• Question: when did you first decide you wanted to become a scientist and why?

    Asked by fruitpastel to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 9 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by rosiered, wengan, dominica, molineux, harrydixon, bonbon2000, jameswy1.
    • Photo: Joanna Giles

      Joanna Giles answered on 9 Nov 2012:

      Hi!
      I know it sounds cheesy but I have always wanted to be a scientist. I wanted to be an astronaut originally or work for NASA. I loved Physics in school. I think this was my dream since about year 7 when I first started having proper science lessons. But I still wasn’t sure what kind of careers that there were for scientists.

      In year 9 I went on a trip to Aberystwyth University to learn about DNA in a lab workshop. I loved it so much I realised that there was so much biology that we don’t know about, and if I could work in medical research I could potentially help people too.

    • Photo: Louise Stanley

      Louise Stanley answered on 9 Nov 2012:

      I think I have always liked doing experiments as when I was younger I used to love the chemistry kits you can buy. I do also have a soft spot for animals as I have always had pets. I did start off wanting to be a vet so I did a weeks work experience in a vets practice-I did enjoy myself but realised that I am far too squeamish to cope with all the blood. I still remember a dog having some teeth extracted and the smell was horrific!
      I went to university to do biochemistry as I enjoyed the subjects at school-I think it is really important to do something you like otherwise you won’t have much fun! I have gradually moved towards genetics and diagnoses in the NHS which I love. But I am also sure that there are lots of other jobs I would enjoy as I really like being challenge and you never know what is round the corner. Do you like science?

    • Photo: Louise Walkin

      Louise Walkin answered on 10 Nov 2012:

      I actually wanted to be a doctor or a nurse for a while (I thought that was all you could do in science!). I loved science at school but never knew much about being a scientist. When I started my A-levels my biology teacher wasn’t a Mr but a Dr! When he told us all why he had that title and that he had done scientific research, it made me think maybe I don’t want to be a doctor or a nurse and maybe I want to do a PhD and become a professional scientist. I will always remember how he helped me decide my career. He was also a fab teacher and made biology an even more exciting subject!

    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 10 Nov 2012:

      I loved science since I started science lessons at 10 years old, and remember learning about the acceleration of gravity and Einsteins theory of relativity by reading about them in my superhero comics! I also had some really great science teachers at my secondary school who really encouraged me and made science fun.

      I didn’t know what kind of scientist I wanted to be though. I studied chemistry and physics at A-level and had a hard time choosing between them when it came to going to University. I ended up finding a Chemistry degree that included Biochemistry and Genetics (which I thought sounded cool). I then became hooked on Genetics and did my PhD on that. Now I have ended up teaching Biomedical Science – even though I stopped studying biology at 14!

Comments