Question: how did debt collecting effect your scientific ideas? x

Marieke Navin answered on 14 Jun 2010:

Ha ha ha what a great question! Well, I think in a way being a scientist made me a better debt collector. I mean, you spent the money so pay it back? pretty simple “cause and effect” stuff.

Funnily enough I’ve just thought of a way that debt collecting helped me in my scientific career. It’s a bit weird. When i was a debt collector I had to phone people up when they owed money. Pretty horrible. I had to phone them when they were having their tea, they were at work, or 9am on a Saturday morning when they were in bed. It’s quite hard to do this. When I worked as a scientist sometimes I had to ring people that I was too scared to ring! Because I wanted to ask for help, or ask them to clarify something, or do something for me. They could have been really important or scary professors. But since I was so practised at making difficult phone calls I could do it!