• Question: I'm interested in working in scientific research because I love science, solving problems and learning new stuff so I'm reasonably confident that I would enjoy it but what is the worst thing about working in scientific research?

    Asked by keekslb to Chris, Dave, David, Fiona, Jack on 15 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Dave Farmer

      Dave Farmer answered on 15 Jun 2013:

      Hello keekslb,

      I would say that it’s the periods when things don’t work. The nature of research is that you’re trying new ideas, and inevitably, some of them don’t pan out. At these points you have to just grit your teeth and tough it out, working hard until something goes your way. I will say though, that when you do get something working, the harder the struggle to get there, the sweeter it is when it works.

      I’m glad to hear that you are interested in a career in science. My best advice to you though, is to not worry about your career as a researcher yet. Just make sure that you do that science that you enjoy the most at the university that you feel most comfortable at when you go round. That’ll make it easier for you to do well and end up the right place when you enter research.

      Hope this helps!

    • Photo: David Freeborn

      David Freeborn answered on 17 Jun 2013:

      Hi keelslb,

      The worst thing about scientific research is the fact that most things don’t work most of the time. Even solving a simple problem can take hours of very frustrating work.
      Hofstadter’s Law says that “things always takes longer than you expect, even when you take Hofstadter’s Law into account”.

      But even so, scientific research is great fun, and when things do work out, it’s the most satisfying feeling. It’s really great to know that the work I’m doing is making a difference, pushing the frontiers of human knowledge. So, if you enjoy science, keep going!

    • Photo: Jack Miller

      Jack Miller answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      Hi Keekslb,

      David & Dave are definitely right — it’s the long periods of frustration when something doesn’t work, and you honestly have no idea. Quite often I’ve also slaved away on an idea, only to discover months later that it was doomed from the start, for some fundamental reason I couldn’t possibly have foreseen at the time. Nevertheless, you undoubtedly learn something from the experience, and, as Dave says, the longer you bash your head against a brick wall, the more satisfying it is when you eventually smash through it…

      — Jack

    • Photo: Fiona Coomer

      Fiona Coomer answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      I would agree with the others that the frustration of things not working is probably the worst thing about scientific research. We have a motto: ‘if it’s easy, someone else will have already done it’ – all the exciting science requires a lot of hard work (and often loads of things going wrong), otherwise someone would have discovered it years ago.

      One of the other difficult things is trying to persuade others that what you are researching is interesting and important, whether this is trying to get a research paper published, applying for money to fund your research or even just talking to your friends outside the lab.

      Someone once said to me – ‘you don’t do research because you want to do it but because you can’t imagine not doing it’. I think this is very good guidance – if you’re good at and enjoy science and have the right personality, you’ll probably end up in research, but try and get loads of experience of other things along the way, so that you’re in the best possible position whichever direction you want your life to head in.

    • Photo: Chris Mansell

      Chris Mansell answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      When I first did scientific research, every success felt amazing and everything that didn’t go as well as I wanted felt awful. It was like a very emotionally exhausting, roller-coaster ride. I wasn’t sure if I was cut out for science. However, I have learnt to not take setbacks to heart as much.

      One time during my PhD, nothing worked for months. This was so dispiriting. It actually happened when things in other aspects of my life weren’t going that well. It was quite tough. No-one really knows how to help you because you tend to know more about what is going on in your own research than anyone else does.

      So physics isn’t for the faint-hearted but it does have lots of advantages to make up for this.

Comments