research

[computerages]

Hi,

 

How does a researcher spend his typical day? Meaning, if you are working in a scientist's lab, what would be your typical activities. If you are working on math research, what would be your research activities?

 

any insightful answers would be greatly appreciated!

[Klaynos]

I worked as a summer research student last summer, and this is a pretty average day, and pretty much how the days I spend on my masters project work.

 

Turn up in the morning, have a meeting with supervisor (about once a week), go to the lab and set start setting something up, coffee break, continue setting stuff up (trying to get a monochromator dot that is about half a mm in diameter onto a sample that is about the same size and getting it at normal incidence is rather fiddly), lunch, get back start it going, go and it in front of a computer and start playing with computer models of future experiments, or trying to interperat data from passed experiments, coffee break, more reading or using a computer/set another experiment going. Also alot of time is spent reading papers written by people doing similar things to you.

 

The above is a bit of a merging, some days you'll spend alot more time fiddling with your experiment and others more on the computer. For example the experimental settup I've got at the moment it takes under a min to take all the data I need before I have to switch something and then do the same again, so there would really be no point in me walking away to do something else, as by the time I'm out of the clean room it's finished. But my last experiment a very similar scan could take anywhere up to 2 hours!

[CharonY]

, if you are working in a scientist's lab, what would be your typical activities

 

Depends on your position (e.g. phD student, postdoc, PI, Prof, etc.) on your work ethics. In many labs your are free to setup your day (or nightwork) as it pleases you. Common to most labs are group meetings in which one should discuss ones results and, depending on your position and the institution you have to attend/give lectures and courses.

If I don't have teaching obligations I usually go to work in the mornig (~8:30 am) and start off with reading a couple of papers to stay informed (~30-90 minutes). After that its working in the lab or at the computer, usually according to some rough planning done the night before, 45 mins lunch some time after 1 pm and continue working until usually 9-10 pm, cleaning up and going home). This is interrupted by around 3 5 minutes breaks. No breaks while working on the computer, of course.

In addition this is frequently interrupted for tutoring master and phD students.

Overall, one migth agree that there is nothing like typical activities in the lab (unless in very specialized ones).