Editing Scientist (section)

===Career===
After the completion of their training, many scientists pursue careers in a variety of work settings and conditions.<ref name="Kwok2017">{{cite journal | last1 = Kwok | first1 = Roberta | title = Flexible working: Science in the gig economy | journal = Nature | volume = 550 | pages = 419–421 | doi = 10.1038/nj7677-549a | year=2017| doi-access = free }}</ref> In 2017, the British [[scientific journal]] ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' published the results of a large-scale survey of more than 5,700 doctoral students worldwide, asking them which [[Economic sector|sectors of the economy]] they would like to work in. A little over half of the respondents wanted to pursue a career in academia, with smaller proportions hoping to work in industry, government, and nonprofit environments.<ref name="Editorial2017a">{{cite journal | year = 2007 | title = Many junior scientists need to take a hard look at their job prospects | journal = Nature | editor = Editorial | volume = 550 | pages = 549–552| doi = 10.1038/nj7677-549a | last1 = Woolston | first1 = Chris| doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Woolston2017">{{cite journal | last1 = Lee | first1 = Adrian | last2 = Dennis | first2 = Carina | last3 = Campbell | first3 = Phillip | year = 2007 | title = Graduate survey: A love–hurt relationship | journal = Nature | volume = 550 | issue = 7677 | pages = 549–552 | doi = 10.1038/nj7677-549a| doi-access = free }}</ref>

Other motivations are recognition by their peers and prestige. The [[Nobel Prize]], a widely regarded prestigious award,<ref name = "Stockton2014">{{citation | last = Stockton | first = Nick | title = How did the Nobel Prize become the biggest award on Earth? | newspaper = Wired | date = 7 October 2014 | url = https://www.wired.com/2014/10/whats-nobel-prize-become-biggest-award-planet | access-date = 3 September 2018}}</ref> is awarded annually to those who have achieved scientific advances in the fields of [[medicine]], [[physics]], and [[chemistry]].

Some scientists have a desire to apply scientific knowledge for the benefit of people's health, the nations, the world, nature, or industries (academic scientist and [[industrial scientist]]). Scientists tend to be less motivated by direct financial reward for their work than other careers. As a result, scientific researchers often accept lower average salaries when compared with many other professions which require a similar amount of training and qualification.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

====Research interests====
Scientists include [[experiment]]alists who mainly perform experiments to test hypotheses, and [[Scientific theory|theoreticians]] who mainly develop [[Scientific modelling|models]] to explain existing data and predict new results. There is a continuum between the two activities and the division between them is not clear-cut, with many scientists performing both tasks.

Those considering science as a [[career]] often look to the frontiers. These include [[physical cosmology|cosmology]] and [[biology]], especially [[molecular biology]] and the [[human genome]] project. Other areas of active research include the exploration of [[matter]] at the scale of [[elementary particle]]s as described by [[particle physics|high-energy physics]], and [[materials science]], which seeks to discover and design new materials. Others choose to study [[Human brain|brain]] function and [[neurotransmitter]]s, which is considered by many to be the "final frontier".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234155/ | title=Foreword | year=1992 | publisher=National Academies Press (US) }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-brain-the-final-frontier | title=The Brain: The Final Frontier? | date=November 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cmu.edu/homepage/health/2010/summer/the-last-frontier.shtml | title=The Last Frontier - Carnegie Mellon University &#124; CMU }}</ref> There are many important discoveries to make regarding the nature of the [[mind]] and [[human]] [[thought]], much of which still remains unknown.