• Question: what time do you start and finish at work every day

    Asked by isabellacomerford to Sinead, Jessamyn, Eleanor, Chris, Adam on 11 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Sinead Cullen

      Sinead Cullen answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      Hi Isabella,
      I start work when I have to start an experiment, so maybe 8, 8.30 or 9am and as scientist you finish work when your experiments are finished so this could be any time, maybe 6,7 or 8pm sometimes! You also have to work at the weekends sometimes, Science doesn’t wait for anyone!

    • Photo: Eleanor Holmes

      Eleanor Holmes answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      It varies. The earliest I have ever been here is 7:45 am and the latest I have ever stayed is 2:00 am. Whether or not those times happen on the same day is down to the experiment I am running.

      But on average I spend 8 hours in work (not including lunch time).

    • Photo: Christian Wirtz

      Christian Wirtz answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      Hi Isabella,

      the others make this sound like we slave away every minute of our waking time here! Usually I work about 8 hours a day, from around 9 am to 6 pm with an hour for lunch. Sometimes I have to be in a bit earlier to start a really long experiment or stay late at night, but that is rare. In a similar fashion, sometimes my experiments fail or finish early at say 4 pm and there is no point starting a new experiment. In that case I sometimes leave at 4 or even earlier. Some of my colleagues do not come into work until about 12 pm but they stay very late.

    • Photo: Adam Murphy

      Adam Murphy answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      …I don’t think I work as hard as Eleanor or Sinead do.

      I tend to work 9 to 5 days, Monday to Friday.

      Sometimes I’ll have to work late and be in until seven or so, and sometimes I’ll be in early to get something done.

      If I have to be in late one day I’ll try and be nice to myself and go in a little late the next day. It’s all about making sure you get your work done!

    • Photo: Jessamyn Fairfield

      Jessamyn Fairfield answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      You’re probably beginning to see the theme here, which is: it varies!

      I normally work something like 10-6, Monday through Friday, but sometimes experiments have their own schedule. And sometimes I have a deadline, or I need to book time on shared equipment that’s available sooner if I come in really late or really early. So I try to be flexible with my time; if I need to work in the evening I can take a long lunch and go for a run. Or if I need to work really hard for a deadline, I can take it easy afterward. It’s nice having a job that lets you set your own hours, as long as you get things done!

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