Question: do you think you get paid enough

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.