Just for fun, here my top 15 reasons for being a scientist. Add your own reasons in the comments below if you so wish.
- Not being stuck behind a desk all day every day
- Conferences… see the world for free
- Understanding some of the fundamentals of life and the universe
- Getting paid to do something you love
- Realising just how little understanding we have of life and the universe
- Having the freedom to plan & execute your work (If you are a PhD student you may have to wait until you have finished your studies for this one!)
- People believe what you say (trust me I’m a “doctor”)
- Not having to wear a suit to work every day (could you imagine that?)
- Getting paid to think creatively
- If it doesn’t work, it’s not your fault. Most things don’t work anyway - this is research!
- Getting paid to think logically
- Owning a lab coat
- You can work in nearly any country in the world that you choose
- Owning a bunsen burner (depending on your specialization, but each has it’s own gadgets that are great to own!)
- Your mother/father/grandmother thinks you are a genius (unless he/she is a scientist too!)
Got any more?… add them below.
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Nick Oswald
Nick is a molecular biologist who grazes in the field of biocatalysis by day and cooks up Bitesize Bio by night.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
A lab coat? You mean that white thing the PI puts on when reporters come to photograph him swirling pink liquid in a flask?
September 19th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
My favorite is #7. Unfortulately, try as I may, wives and teenage daughters appear to be immune!
September 19th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Striving and progressing toward, however never achieving, absolute truth
September 20th, 2007 at 2:20 am
#11 Scaring the pants off IT when you say how many terabytes the lab produces in a year.. and we’ll never throw it away!
#12 Getting to handle biomedical waste up close and personal
#13 Understanding how your hybrid Prius actually works
September 20th, 2007 at 9:18 am
the only time i ever put on a lab coat nowadays is when i had to do PCR, and they *never* work - not my fault right?
September 20th, 2007 at 9:24 am
In my lab we are fairly rigorous about lab coats. I didn’t like it at first, but now I love my lab coat.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:44 am
15 Reasons to Be a Scientist…
I ran across a web page today that gives 15 reasons to be a scientist. I thou……
September 28th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
16. You get paid big bucks! (Depending on your profession, of course…)
September 29th, 2007 at 3:41 am
16. Getting paid substandard wages while working days and nights while on tenure track, while your buddies drive BMWs and surf in Hawaii… while you wonder why your second wife has left you and why you still don’t have an office with a window???
Oh wait, that was my “inside” voice…
November 6th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
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[...] 15 Reasons to Be A Scientist Just for fun, here are my top 15 reasons for being a scientist. [...]