Question: are you single? ;) if no are you sure you wont let your relationship get in the way of your science?

James Pope answered on 22 Jun 2012:

Hi Sawsage,

It’s an interesting question, and certainly one I wasn’t expecting on IAS2012!

I am presently single, partly because of a decision that my then girlfriend and I had to make about our respective careers. She got a place doing a PhD in Aberdeen, I was in Leeds, so we decided to split up, as we couldn’t guarentee we would be able to get post-PhD jobs near each other.

It was a hard decision to make, the toughest, but we did what was right for both of us. It does vary from person to person though, I think we all develop our own balance, you factor everything into your life, work, sport, relaxation, relationships and sleep and put it all together. A PhD though, does probably take over more of your life than an ordinary job, just because of what it is, a rare, once in a lifetime chance to really be the best in the world at something you spend 3-4 years working on, so it demands that little bit more from you.