That’s a good question, and one that depends a lot on what type of scientist you are. That’s one of the best things about being a scientist is that to some extent you get to choose what hours you work. Its not like a 9-5 job.
Sometimes you might have an experiment that needs to have measurements taken overnight, so you have to stay in the lab all night. BUT… then the next day you can go home and sleep 🙂
I’m lucky in that I get to do some of my work from home so sometimes I get up early and so a few hours of work, then maybe go for a swim or a walk, go into the lab to do some work there if I need to and then come home and work into the evening. The hours are super flexible, which is great. I usually work for at least some time over the weekends as well, but then might have some time off during the week.
I think that, as with most jobs the most successful people are often the ones that put in the most effort and work pretty hard. I don’t think many Australians work the “standard” 38 hour week anymore. Its more like 50 hours, or even more if you’ve got some exciting experiments happening. The thing is, becaue science is so interesting a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like work!
I agree with Kate, how many hours you have to work really depends on what type of experiments you are doing and what area of science you are working in. But, it’s certainly not a 9-5 job.
Like Kate, I sometimes do experiments where I need to take measurements either really late or really early, or on weekends, but if I come in over the weekend, then I can usually take a few hours off during the week. When I’m writing, I also have the option to work from home, which is great. I definately work more than the standard 38 hour week, but I don’t mind most of the time, because I really enjoy what I do, so most of the time it doesn’t really feel like work.
But I definitely don’t work all the time – I spend time with my husband and my dog, catch up with friends and family and go away for weekends. I like watching TV shows and movies, going to the gym, running and relaxing in my spa 🙂
In general, most jobs in science have pretty flexible working hours. Some (like CSIRO who I work for) are very flexible, which is good for me, because I hate getting up early. However, when we worked in the field, we would get up very early to make the most of our time, but then when we got back to the lab, we could take a day off to make up for all the extra time we put in.
I now have a job that’s pretty much 9-5, with government.
When I was a researcher/research student, I had extremely flexible hours. And I didn’t need to do experiments in the lab, so I didn’t have to think about the timing of when to go in to work.
Hi xtina,
That’s a good question, and one that depends a lot on what type of scientist you are. That’s one of the best things about being a scientist is that to some extent you get to choose what hours you work. Its not like a 9-5 job.
Sometimes you might have an experiment that needs to have measurements taken overnight, so you have to stay in the lab all night. BUT… then the next day you can go home and sleep 🙂
I’m lucky in that I get to do some of my work from home so sometimes I get up early and so a few hours of work, then maybe go for a swim or a walk, go into the lab to do some work there if I need to and then come home and work into the evening. The hours are super flexible, which is great. I usually work for at least some time over the weekends as well, but then might have some time off during the week.
I think that, as with most jobs the most successful people are often the ones that put in the most effort and work pretty hard. I don’t think many Australians work the “standard” 38 hour week anymore. Its more like 50 hours, or even more if you’ve got some exciting experiments happening. The thing is, becaue science is so interesting a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like work!
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I agree with Kate, how many hours you have to work really depends on what type of experiments you are doing and what area of science you are working in. But, it’s certainly not a 9-5 job.
Like Kate, I sometimes do experiments where I need to take measurements either really late or really early, or on weekends, but if I come in over the weekend, then I can usually take a few hours off during the week. When I’m writing, I also have the option to work from home, which is great. I definately work more than the standard 38 hour week, but I don’t mind most of the time, because I really enjoy what I do, so most of the time it doesn’t really feel like work.
But I definitely don’t work all the time – I spend time with my husband and my dog, catch up with friends and family and go away for weekends. I like watching TV shows and movies, going to the gym, running and relaxing in my spa 🙂
0
In general, most jobs in science have pretty flexible working hours. Some (like CSIRO who I work for) are very flexible, which is good for me, because I hate getting up early. However, when we worked in the field, we would get up very early to make the most of our time, but then when we got back to the lab, we could take a day off to make up for all the extra time we put in.
0
I now have a job that’s pretty much 9-5, with government.
When I was a researcher/research student, I had extremely flexible hours. And I didn’t need to do experiments in the lab, so I didn’t have to think about the timing of when to go in to work.
0