Andy Pitsillides is in his first lecturing post, teaching anatomy. He has contemplated leaving science but stayed - partly because he was offered the lectureship after his second postdoctoral position.
He says: "It represents security. But then the goalposts move and you're not doing what you want to do." Although he enjoys teaching he feels it gets in the way of research.
Lack of time in the lab makes it difficult to "keep my finger on the pulse". Packaging of grant proposals seems to count more than their content, he says, and only small grants are available for off-the-wall ideas. "It's all about funding at the end of the day," he says. He laments the importance of political acumen rather than achievement and feels that science is a narrow field. "We're walking down a country lane, but we think we're on a motorway." Money is definitely an issue for him, particularly living in London. But he likes learning and would miss the "vigorous camaraderie" of the lab.