• Question: how much do you lot get paid for being a scientist

    Asked by idunno to Cesar, Emily, Jamie, Kate, Philippa on 17 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Kate Clancy

      Kate Clancy answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Because I work at a public university, this is public record, so I don’t mind telling you. I make $60,000 a year, which I think works out to less than ₤30,000. Not very much, compared to what I could be making in business or other fields. But like the person who asked why we were doing this for only ₤500, it’s not just about the money, but about building a life that challenges and excites you every day, and makes you happy.

    • Photo: Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo

      Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      That is an important question. I will answer this from my own perspective, as a theoretical physicist, I don’t know how it is for other fields.

      As a theoretical physicist, at least at my level, you get paid between £28,000 to £32,000 per year. That is alright to have a nice life but it is very far from being much. Other professions would pay significantly better in the sort time scale, but as we all agree here, we don’t do science because of the money itself. We have much more rewarding experiences through our careers and we get paid for it.

    • Photo: Jamie Gallagher

      Jamie Gallagher answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi,

      Well I am at the bottom of the tree. I am doing my PhD which means I only get about 13,000. Once I get my doctorate this should jump up quite a bit.
      If you work hard and find a good job it is possible that you can earn a very decent amount. Especially if you do not work in a university and go to work in industry instead.

    • Photo: Philippa Demonte

      Philippa Demonte answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      @idunno I am even further down the tree than @Jamie . I have only just finished my undergraduate (first) degree, so I haven’t been paid anything except for some extra work I did last year with the Schools Seismology Project and a couple of geology lessons I taught some 9-10 year olds. Because I am going to continue to study for a Masters and then PhD, at this stage it is more important for me to get work experience, which is why I am working voluntarily at Montserrat Volcano Observatory for the next 2 months. However, some of my classmates who have been studying geophysics with me are going to go work for oil companies now where the starting wage is around £28,000 , and some other friends of mine are going off to Australia to work as mining geologists. Out there they can earn around £50,000.

      If you study Earth, environmental or geosciences you are pretty much guaranteed a good salary once you’ve finished studying. Jobs in industry (i.e. working for a company) pay higher, but jobs doing research are more varied and interesting.

    • Photo: Emily Robinson

      Emily Robinson answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      I’m very like Jamie as I am still doing my PhD, except I get a tiny bit more as a company put some money towards my funding. I also earn a little bit of pocket money by doing some practical teaching for my university (but I also do that as I enjoy teaching!).

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