• Question: do you make a lot of money?

    Asked by trattloj01 to Liz, Amelia, Jim, Prateek, Richard on 17 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by charleypoolton.
    • Photo: Lizzard O'Day

      Lizzard O'Day answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I’m a PhD student which by definition means you work a lot, you don’t get paid a lot, and you seek out free food at seminars whenever possible.

      As CEO/founder of Lizzard Fashion- things aren’t that different, I work a lot, I’ve elected to not get paid, and I go out for free lunch w/ clients as often as possible.

      I’m not doing either situation justice because they are both quite fun.

    • Photo: Amelia Markey

      Amelia Markey answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Like Liz I’m a PhD student so I don’t make a lot of money but it’s enough. I do what I do to get the qualification and more importantly because I love it.

      In an ideal world we’d all get paid loads to do something we love but if I had to pick one it would be to do something I love and that’s science! 🙂

    • Photo: Jim Caryl

      Jim Caryl answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I finished studying some years ago, so I get a more senior salary, but I can certainly say that there are friends of mine who studied accountancy and other financial trades who earn a lot more than me. I certainly get enough for the lifestyle that I lead, and the amount scientists in my position are paid is above the national average salary.

      However, the amount that you earn shouldn’t really be the choice factor about whether you go into science or not. Yes, there will be periods where you maybe don’t earn as much as other, but you go into science for the fun of finding things out. If you find a home in science, it will be like a big hobby, only you get paid for doing it. What could be better than that?

    • Photo: Richard Badge

      Richard Badge answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I am a lecturer at the University of Leicester. Lecturer’s post start at around £36,000 per year and go up with experience…

      This is reasonable salary for a scientist and I can support my family, pay the mortgage and eat, but it is not a huge amount. Certainly many of my contemporaries earn much more, but I am not in science for the money – I think its amazing that I get paid for doing somethings that I really enjoy, and in which there is always another challenge.

Comments