• Question: Why did you decide to be a scientist?

    Asked by jessicaroseb to Anzy, Aoife, Dave, Matt, Tomasz on 11 Nov 2013. This question was also asked by strawberry, chloconibear, lucylou24, hannahwhitehead, baileylou13, sutivirus12, rochellehoran1d, fisheyes101, jcoo1787.
    • Photo: David Christensen

      David Christensen answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      I don’t really remember deciding to be a scientist!

      I remember deciding I wanted to do science at university when I was at school and I remember deciding to carry on doing science in a lab after finishing my first degree, but I don’t think I ever thought, “I want to be a scientist!” It always just seemed like a fun and easy thing to carry on doing. I enjoyed science lessons at school and then I enjoyed working in a lab at university, so I just carried on doing it. The great thing is that now I get paid to enjoy working in a lab!

    • Photo: Matthew Tomlinson

      Matthew Tomlinson answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      In a way it just happened. I enjoyed science at school and did pretty well at it so I decided to study it further at college and university. After uni I did a job in an office for a while but I was so bored by it that I thought I had to go back and do a PhD. After I finished my PhD my boss at the time had some funding for a short project and that was it, I’d become a scientist. I think the reason I’ve stayed in science is because the job is so interesting, we are at the cutting edge of research, when you make a discovery you are the first person ever to witness it.

    • Photo: Anzy Miller

      Anzy Miller answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      I don’t think I decided to become a scientist either! I liked science at school, especially biology – and so I decided to study it at uni. At uni, I realised what I found interesting and what I didn’t and so I specialised pretty quickly – and really I’ve just continued to do that – follow what I found interesting!

    • Photo: Aoife O'Shaughnessy-Kirwan

      Aoife O'Shaughnessy-Kirwan answered on 11 Nov 2013:

      Hi jessicaroseb,
      I always loved science so it was never really a decision between science and anything else for me! I was interested in physics and biology when I was younger so really the decision came when I had to figure out which I wanted to pursue. I also had a really great science teacher at school which was a huge encouragement. Since then, as Anzy has said, I’ve just been following what interests me. If it makes me feel passionate/enthusiastic then I know it’s the right path!

    • Photo: Tomasz Kostrzewski

      Tomasz Kostrzewski answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      Hi jessicaroseb! I have always enjoyed science and particuarly enjoyed Biology and Chemistry and school (I had some great teachers!). However, it wasn’t until I spent time in real science labs that I decided that I definitely wanted to become a scientist myself. During my Biochemistry degree I did a 10 week lab project in one of the research groups at my university and additionally during summer holidays I did some work experience in a hospital pathology lab. The time spent in the lab doing hands-on science, playing with DNA, bacteria and patient samples was really exciting and interesting. Since then I have spent time working for a drug company and am now working towards my PhD.

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