• Question: How important is you work to you all?

    Asked by rosiep to Allan, Angela, Diva, Harriet, Nathan on 28 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by raggyy.
    • Photo: Allan Pang

      Allan Pang answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      Very important.

      In fact, my work is my life. Crazy might it sounds but you get to love your project so much that every time you wake up and before you go to sleep, you think of about your project!

      I go to work from Monday to Friday but also sometimes work during weekends. That’s how important it is for me. And I LOVE IT!

    • Photo: Harriet Groom

      Harriet Groom answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      My work is very important to me – it’s not the sort of job you just do because you have to. During my PhD all I did was work and teach – I had very little other time because I was so determined to make my project successful.
      I try to be a little less crazy now but like Allan I often work at weekends (I work with cells and so sometimes they need looking after) and in the evenings but it’s really worth it when an experiment gives you a result.

    • Photo: Nathan Langford

      Nathan Langford answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      I love what I do. I really do. It’s fun and I enjoy it and I can’t really think of anything else that I’d rather do with my days.

      But I have to confess that it’s not really my whole life. There are lots of things I love doing. I love playing sport, playing music, reading, listening to music, cooking, travelling… and sometimes just doing absolutely nothing! I actually think that doing all of these things is really important too – and in fact I’m really convinced that having a broad range of interests gives us a broad range of experiences and that helps us be better scientists.

      Like Harriet, during my PhD, there were times, sometimes months in a row, where I worked long days (12, 14 hours or longer) 6 or 7 days a week. But it’s pretty hard to keep that up for a long time. After a while, I found that it was just too exhausting – and I stopped being efficient at what I was doing, so it can stop helping after a while.

      So now I do keep a more balanced approach. For example, my wife likes me to spend time with her too! 😉 There are always times, usually when deadlines are coming up, when I have to work long hours, but it’s important to stop and take time away.

    • Photo: Angela Lamb

      Angela Lamb answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      Hi
      it is very important to me and I love working as a scientist, but as a mum of 2 small kids I have to find a balance and make sure I juggle my time as best I can. I can’t do those very long hours anymore, although like the others I have worked long days and weekend in the past!
      Angela

    • Photo: Diva Amon

      Diva Amon answered on 5 Jul 2012:

      Hey rosiep and raggyy,

      My work is extremely important to me but like Nathan, I also think that it shouldn’t take over your life completely. I work really hard during the week, sometimes staying in my office until about 8pm but I try to stick to a rule I made that once I leave work, I am done for the day. No working at home or on weekends! It’s important to take time to do other things in life – see friends, play sports, expand your mind in other ways etc but of course, if need be, I would work whatever hours I need to to get something done. However, I do think that if you plan your work well enough, then you wont end up needing to work crazy hours.

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