• Question: do you think you get paid enough

    Asked by make520kuna on 28 Apr 2025.
    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 28 Apr 2025:


      I think so… but I wouldn’t say no to a pay rise!

    • Photo: Ioanna Bezirtzoglou

      Ioanna Bezirtzoglou answered on 19 May 2025:


      I think so – i only started a year ago so I do not expect to be a millionaire already – but hopefully in the next few years I will get a pay increase

    • Photo: Charlotte Slade

      Charlotte Slade answered on 1 Jul 2025:


      That’s a really smart and honest question, and it’s one that grown-ups think about a lot.

      The simple answer is yes, I do. Being a scientist is a professional job, and it pays enough for me to live a comfortable life, take care of my rescue husky, and buy all the ingredients for my somewhat experimental baking projects!

      But it’s a great question because it makes me think about how you get ‘paid’ in a few different ways in a job like mine.

      1. There’s the money. This is the salary that pays for my house, my food, and my bills. It’s important because it allows me to focus on my work without worrying.

      2. There’s the ‘discovery’ payment. This is the incredible feeling you get when an experiment finally works and you learn something new that no one in the world knew before. That moment of “Aha, I figured it out!” is a reward that you can’t put a price tag on. It’s the thrill of solving the puzzle.

      3. And then there’s the ‘impact’ payment. This is knowing that the work you are doing could one day help someone. The idea that a material I helped design might be used in a new medical device or make technology better for people is a huge and wonderful reward.

      So, while the money is definitely important, it’s the combination of all three of those ‘payments’ that makes being a scientist feel like a really rich and worthwhile career.

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