Nine till Five (What a Way to Make A Living!)

So, as you've probably noticed (or maybe not, i don't know), these posts have been pretty regular - virtually every day save for odd ones here and there. Whilst i have my laptop now, this wasn't always the case and so you can pretty much figure out that i've been coming into the lab every day (or therabouts). When i decided to come over here, i had been warned that this was much the case and that my boss would expect me to work. In the initial couple of meetings that we had, he said that he doesn't force people to work all the hours they can (and, indeed, he doesn't expect people to work them either) but he did say that he finds that people who treat it as a 9 to 5 job find it hard to move projects forward at a reasonable pace. For me, personally, science has NEVER been 9 to 5 as even if i'm not in the lab, my mind invariably wanders back on to ideas and theories, possible experiments and so on (not all the time, i should add - usually when i'm sat on a bus, or sat doing nothing in particular). Certainly, throughout my PhD, the best ideas used to come at the most inopportune moments - a couple of times at the gym, one time at the cinema (i had to discreetly write a text message to myself to ensure i didn't forget it). Added to this the fact that i often used to nip into the lab on Saturday and/or Sunday means that its not something i'm unfamiliar with. Plus, the main crux of academic science is that you HAVE to be passionate about it, you have to love the subject because you wouldn't put up with the (relatively) low pay and the hours that you do have to put in. Please don't get me wrong - this isn't a rant, just more of an observational post.

The major differences between here and the UK (both generally and for me personally) actually help to make coming in at the weekends more enjoyable (that's right, enjoyable). The first is the fact that virtually EVERYONE in the lab is here on Saturdays as well: as i type this (it's just before noon on Sat), the lab is feeling pretty much like any other day this week. This is, perhaps, less so on Sunday (for obvious reasons here in the South) but it helps you feel like you're not alone in doing this - one of the worst things about in my Manchester lab was that i was nearly always the ONLY one in on Saturday - again, not that i minded, just made you feel a bit isolated in some ways. Another plus is the proximity of my apartment to work - literally about 5-10 minutes walk. Thus, if i have to nip in to change some solutions (takes about 5 minutes), it isn't such a rigmarole to get here - again, unlike in Manchester which was a good 20 minutes to get to work (including waiting for buses etc.) Finally, having moved over here on my lonesome, this means that virtually all of my new friends/acquaintances are all colleagues - so i don't feel that i'm missing big social events by being here. The fact that i've also got a pretty decent social life right now means that work is not a hard cross to bear. All in all, the hours may be long, but i love the job i have, its constantly changing (and often surprising). So would i swap this for a 9 to 5 (sing away Dolly Parton!)? Not on your life!