It’s tremendously variable, and depends on what is top of my ‘to do’ list that particular day. Often there will be a lot of talking to people—maybe talking about their latest results with the people in the lab, discussing the implications of a newly published scientific paper for our own work, or talking to one of the other group leaders about equipment we need to buy or departmental policies. I might go to a more formal talk as well, perhaps a lab meeting or a seminar given by someone visiting the department.
There’s usually writing to be done, perhaps working on a grant application or a manuscript that we’re getting ready for publication. I don’t do much lecturing to undergraduates at this point, but if there’s a conference or a visit to another institution coming up, I’ll often have work to do on a talk. That involves thinking out the appropriate way to present our work for that audience, and getting the PowerPoint presentation ready.
As a PhD student or postdoc, the day would probably involve a bit less talking and certainly less writing, but a lot more time spent planning and doing experiments. There will still be presentations to give from time to time (at a conference or in a lab meeting) and some writing (perhaps an annual report on research progress). I like the independence that comes with the job. Even when you are quite junior, real scientists don’t have a ‘boss’. They may have an advisor with whom they discuss ideas and experiments and who makes suggestions and gives advice, but ultimately the decision about the path you will take lies with you. In this way a scientific career is rather like being self-employed, and this is one of the aspects of science that is distinct from many jobs.
The social aspects of science are often overlooked. You get to spend your life with intelligent, motivated and interesting people—often from different countries—who share an urge to understand the world. Different labs definitely have different atmospheres, and some labs form strong social groups and will often continue to discuss their experiments—and life—over lunch and in the pub. Lifelong friendships often spring from experiences shared in a particular lab.
As an advisor I like getting to know the people in my lab and watching them grow professionally and personally. As a group leader, this becomes ever more important as you tend to spend less time actually doing experiments and your scientific life can become somewhat vicarious.
