• Question: How much money do you make and also who inspired you

    Asked by anon-187644 to David, Stewart on 5 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: David Ho

      David Ho answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Hi! I’m still a PhD student, which means I’m in the process of becoming a Doctor of Physics while I carry out my research. I receive a grant from a “research council” called STFC (who also sponsor the Fast Computing) — for students living in London it’s about £16,500 a year. This pays for my living expenses, and STFC also pays my tuition fees so I don’t have to pay to study.

      I think to be honest my biggest inspirations have been the other scientists I’ve met — nobody incredibly famous, but talking to other researchers who are passionate about what they do made me really think that I would enjoy doing research. And so far I haven’t been proved wrong!

    • Photo: Stewart Martin-Haugh

      Stewart Martin-Haugh answered on 8 Nov 2018:

      I am a mid-level scientist working at a national laboratory. This is a bit like a university, but run by the government and with lots of cool toys (sorry, “expensive scientific equipment”):n
      https://stfc.ukri.org/about-us/where-we-work/rutherford-appleton-laboratory/

      I earn £38,000 a year, which is a good salary, similar to e.g. an experienced teacher. I know people who did a degree, or started doing scientific research, then left to work for banks, or big tech companies like Google. They earn more money, but they’re working on different problems. It comes down to how much you value money and what kind of job you think is interesting. Everyone will have a different answer.

Comments

  • Photo: Marton

    Marton commented on :

    Hi! I’m also still a PhD student just as David, I make around 14,500£ in the form of a stipend.

    No one in particular inspired me, as in I didn’t want to be a scientist because of just one person, I was simply always interested in science.