• Question: does your job ever hold you back from other aspects of your life ie. the social aspect?

    Asked by twxxtriona to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 12 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Jean Bourke

      Jean Bourke answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Ohhh, now do you want an honest answer? Just kidding, to be honest it probably does so no more and no less than any other job.

      A PhD is also really great for socialising on the job. I’m luck as the people I work with are really nice and we enjoy working together. We have lunch together, go for tea, go to the pub, go over to each other’s houses. I feel I’ve made some really good friends in my job.

      There’s another social aspect in the chemistry department in general as we have a society that organises events. Tomorrow there’s a table quiz on! We’ve been paintballing, had halloween parties, Christmas parties and various other things I can’t think of right now. Actually, a couple of weeks ago we had Chemistry Take Me Out. We popped balloons instead of putting out lights. It was just for fun and everyone had a great time.

      I regularly meet friends from outside work for lunch or tea/coffee. I am lucky as I live with one of my best friends and I can socialise at home!

      I won’t lie, sometimes you do have to work late and go in over the weekend. A good audio book and/or some music tends to help with that. Sometimes if we have to go in over the weekend we arrange to be in at the same time so we all have company. A PhD is a bit different to a regular job as you are working on your own research so you feel more motivated to put the time in. Of course this can mean that sometimes you work too much and you have to recognise when it’s time for a break!

      I suppose pretty much any job sometimes necessitates working overtime but the better you manage your time less often this happens.

    • Photo: Enda O'Connell

      Enda O'Connell answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Hi twxxtriona,

      I completely agree with Jean, working in scientific research can be great for your social life. You get to meet interesting people from all over the world; you are normally working in a University so there are always great events and gigs to go to on campus, as well as all of the sports clubs and societies you can try out; and most Departments or Institutes you work in will organise social events during the year like table quizzes, music nights and charity events.

      One of the best aspects of a job in Science is travelling abroad to conferences to present your work or to training workshops to learn new techniques. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough be able to travel to Seattle, Atlanta, London, Hamburg and Valencia, meeting some great scientists and making some great friends I keep in touch with through Facebook and Twitter.

      Finally, I love taking part in Outreach events like I’m a Scientist, where you get to meet other scientists, but more importantly other people, both young and old, who are interested in Science who can give you a fresh view of the impact of research on the world. We hold tours of our labs every few weeks and go out to schools to promote Science and to encourage students to think about a career in Science.

      So overall Triona, I think a career in Science is actually a great way to meet new and interesting people. Like yourself 🙂

    • Photo: Kevin Lomasney

      Kevin Lomasney answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      Well that’s a good question. To be honest if anything I think it teaches you to develop a better social life. There are definitely times in your PhD when you can work long hours, everyday for weeks and even months at a time. However, from my own experience I find that this motivates you to always make the most of the free time you have and I have found myself more inclined to do more different and interesting things!

      During very busy periods (which occur more often than not) if I know I’m going to have an evening free or even a couple of hours I will make sure that the time is well spent having fun with friends, be it through a game of football, going to the cinema or just out in town somewhere to have laugh. Sometimes if you have too much time you might not feel as much need to do these other things. It is so important to have fun, socialise and keep up with friends. For me it keeps me motivated through the tougher periods of my research.

      Also, despite the long hours at times, science is not generally a strict 9-5 job, you don’t have to clock in and out at a specific time like other jobs. This requires you to be very self motivated but the beauty is that it also allows to manage, to a certain extent, the specific hours you work. So if you are organised and clever about it, you can make most of your social events and even some that people in a 9-5 job can’t!! That’s the great thing about science you can really make sure you never live the same kind of day twice so you can always keep things interesting!

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