• Question: how many days and how many hours a week do you work

    Asked by haydenmarchant to Emma, James, Jayne, Kara, Sharon on 25 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Jayne Charnock

      Jayne Charnock answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi hayden

      I normally work Monday-Friday- occasionally i have to pop in at the weekend, and I work either 8-4 or 9-5, or sometimes i have to work late, other days i finish early! its very flexible which is one of the reasons i enjoy the job 🙂

    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi Haydenmarchant,

      It varies from week to week, I normally come in about 8 on weekdays and I normally leave by 6, a bit earlier on a Friday! If I’m really busy, it might be longer.

      I sometimes work on Saturdays, but not really a full day, maybe from 9-2.
      Although it seems a lot, it’s pretty flexible, like if I need time to go to the dentist, or the post office, I can just go, and if I am not very busy then I can sometimes leave early. I like that side of things!!

    • Photo: Kara Cerveny

      Kara Cerveny answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      The life of a scientist can be very flexible; and the same goes for a science writer/editor (which I started being a few months ago). That said, most jobs with flexible working hours mean that you end up working a lot — but that’s mostly because you enjoy what you do and enjoy thinking about biology/scientific problems. When I was working in the lab, I would typically work from ~9:30am until about 7pm at night M-F. I would generally do somethings over the weekend (but I wouldn’t always have to come into the lab to do work, like read/review/write up research). Now as a science writer/editor, I work about the same amount of time, but I have to be responsive to lots of other scientists who want to make sure I am handling their papers in a timely manner.

    • Photo: Emma King

      Emma King answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi haydenmarchant, thanks for your question. I have flexible working so I can work when and where I want. It really varies – this week I need to be in the office from about 9am to 7 at night, but then I might take an afternoon off in lieu. Flexi working isn’t as good as it sounds – our office is open 24/7 365 days a year, so if you have work that you need to get done then you are expected to be in!

    • Photo: James Chan

      James Chan answered on 25 Mar 2011:

      Hi Hayden,
      science is really variable in that there’s no real routine and you have to be self-motivated to get out of bed and do things. Having said that, the job is fun and exciting so there’s never a problem with motivation for me! An average week, I’d probably be in the lab around 50 hours Mon – Fri but I often do nip in during the weekends to check up on my stem cells or animals to make sure they’re doing ok. But most of the work you do as a scientist is in your head, so you do end up thinking about it a lot of the time when you’re on the bus or something… it’s like a puzzle that you’re always trying to solve.

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