• Question: do you get paid alot

    Asked by anon-197476 to Dan, Matthew on 6 Mar 2019. This question was also asked by anon-197542, anon-197545.
    • Photo: Dan Porter

      Dan Porter answered on 6 Mar 2019:

      Hi there, interesting question – and an important one to for anyone considering a career in science.
      I would say I get paid comfortably for what I do, I earn enough to own a house and car, go on holiday once or twice a year and keep myself in my various hobbies – from fencing (the sport!) to computer games to building robots.
      Could I earn more with my skill set? Yes, almost certainly by taking a job in industry or the commercial sector, but doing so might mean have less control over the science I can pursue, and the flexibility of hours that I work. Plus jobs in industry tend to be naturally less secure as companies can be bought out or go bust, but national science facilities are unlikely to.
      The advice I would give is don’t go into science for the money, go into it for the love of science and you can an incredibly rewarding career.

    • Photo: Matthew Selwood

      Matthew Selwood answered on 13 Mar 2019:

      I must admit, I don’t get paid an awful lot, as I am still a student! It is definitely more than enough to live on though, and fit it a cheeky holiday now and then. Dan is completely right, that with the skills he / I have, if all we cared about was money we could be earning a hell of a lot more, but that isn’t the drive for us. We want to do science, to have fun at work and help the world understand more in out fields. We are payed enough to live on, and a very modest sum so there is no worry of poverty or bankruptcy 🙂

Comments

  • Photo: Matthew

    Matthew commented on :

    Dan has really hit the money here; if you want to be a scientist and love the subject, yes you can live a very good life and adore your job. If money is your main motivator, then perhaps it isn’t for you, as other higher paid positions or careers are always around.

    There are few other jobs that would expect you to be at work at 1am on a weekend because something isn’t working, which I have done far more times than I can remember – and I am sure Dan has been in that position far more than I have! The reason we stay till 1am is to make the science work because we love it, not the overtime pay (if you are lucky enough to have it).