Few professions offer the universal mystique that surrounds being a scientist. If you can make the grade in this game, you're right up there with the secret agents. The mystical transformation from non-scientist to scientist is through the rite of passage that is the Ph.D. And, yet, this two-pronged voyage of discovery and self-discovery is just the beginning of the transformation. Life in the busy years that follow becomes more complex and demanding than you could ever have imagined. Yet, despite the frantic activity, the boredom and the frustration, you can go to parties safe in the knowledge that, if anyone asks you what you do for a living, you can answer without apologising or shrugging your shoulders: you are a scientist. Enjoy it. You are paid to play.