I’ve been curious how many working researchers we’ve got in this community, and what you all do!
If you’re working in science (physical or social), engineering, etc in a research capacity, give a shout in the comments and let us know what you work on! Same goes for students and amateur scientists at any level. (And by amateur I mean those of you who are working on your own experiments but just not being paid for it / not working on a degree; I’m upset that “amateur” has a negative connotation, it shouldn’t.)
I’m currently a PhD candidate, working on transmission electron microscopy and electronic materials (mainly ferroelectrics). In the past I’ve been involved in research / product development in a few different industries, including medical devices, aerogels, and materials for RF devices.
Development engineer working with autonomous vehicles.
Worst part of it is having to interact with Tesla bros who think that they have self-driving figured out despite what experts in the field tell them.
Best part of it is being able to code functionality then sit down inside an actual physical vehicle and see, hear, and feel it act out what you programmed. Incredibly satisfying.
That’s does sound satisfying!
I’m pretty thankful that I’m not in a field that gets too much public attention. I think people mostly think of electron microscopy as a bit like magic. I can imagine the kinds of interactions you might have; everybody knows how to drive a car, after all, so why can’t you just program it to do what they do?!
That said, I’ve got some ideas for how to… (/s)