• Question: what is the best part of your job

    Asked by strawberrylover22 to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 14 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by bilal11, prict010.
    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I love doing working outside and doing fieldwork! It means I get to go out into the countryside and study animals in the wild… I much prefer that to sitting in my stuffy office! For my fieldwork I visit lochs, ponds, rivers and streams all over the country. Many of the places you find crayfish are really beautiful, for example Loch Ken in the borders of Scotland. This is a photo of my field assistant relaxing after a hard day of crayfishing:

    • Photo: Nicolas Biber

      Nicolas Biber answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Totally with Zara for this one 🙂 Fieldwork is what it’s all about. Ecology happens outside, and that’s where we should study it. I get to go to beaches for my fieldwork 😉

    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I like finding out new things! I also like working with other people from different science backgrounds – this means I can learn about other ways of doing things and what other people think and are interested in.

      I would like to do more of my job outside though – using computers and maths doesn’t always give me a chance to visit mountain lochs like Zara (we don’t have many mountains in Essex anyway!) 🙁

      We do have a few beaches though where I go sometimes!

    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Being able to learn new experiments and using new machines!
      Some of the machines are pretty cool- reminds me a little bit of the Transformers 😛
      It’s just amazing how we are able to get results and we get them quite quickly because of technology! Well done to people who have made these complicated equipment!
      It’s great to discover something new about the plant extracts I am working on!

      Also, I love hearing about what other research groups are doing!!

    • Photo: Christine Switzer

      Christine Switzer answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I see I have lots in common with my colleagues. Working outside, developing projects with other scientists, trying new things are all great parts of my job. My favourite part about my job is working with students, especially introducing the younger students to research. Sometimes, they choose to work on something within one of my existing projects. Other times, they choose something new to both of us. It’s great fun trying new things and helping someone else grow as a scientist.

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