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Asked by hang520herd to stephaniebuttigieg, queeniechan, nicoleb, lukenorman, karinamatei, juliewillecomme, henriettahegedus, Ellen, charlotteslade on 2 Jul 2025.
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Luke Norman answered on 2 Jul 2025:
I used to get very stressed when I was working full time in a chemical laboratory. However, I soon realised that maybe this wasn’t the career for me and decided to make a change and discover what I liked doing the most in science, and what aligned with my skills. This, for me, was science communication. I like talking to people about science but not necessarily being in a lab doing it. Right now, I don’t get stressed at my work because I genuinely love what I do.
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Charlotte Slade answered on 2 Jul 2025:
Yes, definitely. But it’s a specific kind of stress, and I’ve learned to think of it like going to the gym for my brain.
When you lift a heavy weight at the gym, your muscles are under stress. They shake a bit, it’s hard work, and you might feel tired afterwards. But you’re doing it on purpose, because that stress is what makes your muscles stronger.
My job is often like a really intense workout for my brain. When I’m trying to design a new piece of equipment that’s never been built before, or solve a physics problem that has everyone stumped, my brain is working its absolute hardest. That can feel very stressful, just like lifting a heavy weight.
The important thing is knowing how to handle it, just like at the gym. You can’t just lift weights for 8 hours straight! You have to take breaks, drink water, and get a good night’s sleep.
For me, that means stepping away from the problem completely. I’ll take my rescue husky for a long walk, do some drawing, or work on a DIY project at home. When I come back to the “brain gym” the next day, the problem that felt impossibly heavy often feels much more manageable.
So the stress is a sign that I’m challenging myself. And just like exercise, it’s the challenge that leads to growth.
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Julie Willecomme answered on 4 Jul 2025:
Sometimes… I think we all do. An urgent deadline, something that goes wrong, someone you need to speak to that is unavailable – we have all experienced those. The trick is to remind yourself that these things are out of your control. Stressing about it doesn’t change the outcome – it just makes you miserable… stop – breathe – make a plan B!
Overall I think I have a great work-life balance – because I know that my work is valuable, but no one is going to die if I don’t do it today (I am not a heart surgeon! 😉 so sometimes you have to be your own best friend and tell yourself to stop and get back to the task later or the next day.
There is a lot of science about the need for breaks to be productive so I’m very disciplined with taking regular breaks to give myself a rest, ready to refocus and do my best work.
Comments
melissau commented on :
I think most jobs have some element of stress involved, what’s important is figuring out how to manage it and, if it’s not possible to do this in a way that works for you, then it’s important to find a different role which is manageable for you. Being a scientist involves having both technical skills which may be specific to a particular role and transferable skills which can be applied to many different roles. When I was a vet in clinical practice I realised that what I found stressful was being on call 24/7, never knowing when the phone would ring in the middle of the night or what kind of problem I’d be required to deal with. This can be particularly difficult when you’re working alone at the animal’s home base with very limited equipment and perhaps even without electricity so lighting is limited too, rather than in a clinic (I worked with horses, so we generally travelled to them, rather than the owner bringing the animal to the practice like for smaller animals such as a dog or a cat). Doing research means that I can use my veterinary training and skills in a different way, which doesn’t involve those kind of stresses – I deal with different kinds of stress such as finding out that it’s not possible to talk to animal owners for a project because they’re too busy earning a living to make time for our project or later on, waiting a long time (sometimes months) to get my research findings reviewed by other scientists before the findings can be published in a journal which can be frustrating when there’s nothing I can do to change the situation.