Question: I'm 12 and i am very interested in science pacifically biology and chemistry i would like to know if the environment scientist work is nice and comfortable but at the same time and place that you can concentrate and make some money speaking of money how much does an average scientict get in a year you see my dad is all about the learning so i really want to get a good job and make proud but at the same time be happy myself and i am comfortable with science? in A levels is science hard?

Jack Miller answered on 15 Jun 2013:

Hi Aniikaz,

Like any job, how much fun being a scientist is depends a lot with who you work with. Fortunately, unlike most jobs, scientists tend to be really interesting, varied people — I’m lucky enough to work with an absolutely mad (in a good way!) bunch of people that I get on with really well. My boss (PhD supervisor) feels more like a father figure than anything else, and we spend a lot of time together doing work, and a fair amount of time together having fun. I won’t lie, the hours are long– but that’s mostly because I really like what I’m doing, and want things to work as best they can, rather than because I’m chained to my desk slaving away!

My office itself is very comfortable — we’ve got tea, coffee and biscuits on tap, along with nice chairs, whiteboards, and good company. This is great for solving problems, as you can just have a nice chat with your friends — the other people you work with!

When it comes down to money, it depends where you do your science. It’s often said that there’s a big split between working in academia (working in a university or institution such as the NHS) and industry (for a company that makes money). It’s hard to put numbers to it, but I believe that a post doctoral researcher (someone with a PhD at the more junior end of the scale) working in a university can earn around roughly £30,000 a year, whereas people doing comparable roles in industry earn around twice that. Looking at the jobs you’d expect people to have at the later stages of their career, professors get around £50-80k/year, and senior industry professionals roughly double that. There are lots of other trade offs that you’d have to consider, and being an academic has lots of freedoms and perks associated with the job that probably aren’t there in an industrial context. All in all, it’s a career that’s paid quite well, but not really astronomically, such as banking. Though, I must admit, at 12 you’re doing well to be thinking of things so far in the future!

It’s great to hear that you’re enjoying science at school — I found A-level chemistry and physics to be a large amount of fun, but also quite a lot of hard work. Yet, if doing something is fun, it ceases to be work — just a set of puzzles that need to be solved.

Keep at it, and I hope this answers your questions!

— Jack