Question: What is your favourite thing about your job?

Marios Kalomenopoulos answered on 7 May 2020:

Well, they’re many things I like in doing research in physics:
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1. At the top, I would put the possibility to learn new things every day! As a scientist, you usually try to discover things that are not known. So it’s very different from when you’re solving a problem for a class, where there was a solution and the teacher knew all about it and could explain it to you. In science, you don’t know the answer!!! And actually there may be no answer in what you’re looking for. This makes me really curious to see what I can find out. (But of course, it can get you really stuck 😉 )
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2. I really like meeting other scientists! In the Observatory of Edinburgh, where I’m based, we have every week, a scientist visiting from another place in the UK or abroad and they talk to us about their science, and you have a chance to chat with them and learn new exciting things. If they work in something similar to you, they might even help you with your problems!
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3. In more practical terms, I love the “working hours”. Don’t get me wrong, scientists work really hard, and most of the time they have to work more than the “usual” 9.00-17.00 timetable, but we’re super flexible on how we work. Of course there are meetings and tutorials you have to attend, but apart from that, people are really flexible to work from home, or a library, or come to work a later hour. I like this freedom.