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Asked by anon-253481 on 6 May 2020. This question was also asked by anon-253608, anon-254391, anon-255763, anon-257236, anon-257186.
Question: What inspired you to become a scientist
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Sylvia Soldatou answered on 6 May 2020:
I was always curious as a kid to understand why things were happening in a certain way and how does it work. I really enjoyed science subjects at school- my favourite ones were cheimstry and biology. Also, both my parents have a scientific background (different from mine) which I think influenced me a lot when I was younger
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Jessica Gomez-Banderas answered on 11 May 2020:
When I was at school I was really interested in chemistry and biology and was particularly good at chemistry! I find it fascinating that you can explain how everything is the world is made and how things work through the study of chemistry. During my degree, I really enjoyed having my own research projects and this inspired me to go on and study a PhD so I could continue researching and increasing my knowledge!
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Charlotte Walker answered on 11 May 2020:
Hi Isabella,
Biology was always my favourite subject at school. I just like learning how the world works. I think the best advice is study something you enjoy, then it doesn’t feel so much like work!
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Jacque Cilliers answered on 11 May 2020:
I like to find new ways of doing things, new ways to solve problems and new perspectives to look at old problems. I felt that becoming a scientist would be a way that I could challenge old ways of doing things, so that we can find new solutions to old problems.
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Rehemat Bhatia answered on 11 May 2020:
I was always fascinated by the natural world growing up, whether it was seeing mountains on trips to visit family in Canada or hanging at the beach and looking in rock pools. I guess it wasn’t until I was a teenager that my interest really started to develop. My geography and geology teachers at school were always really enthusiastic and I was captivated by all the concepts they taught me. They also made me realise that geology was something I could turn into a career. The Natural History Museum researchers who I volunteered and interned with whilst I was doing my first degree at university were also incredibly encouraging and supportive, and great mentors too.
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Becca McGowan answered on 12 May 2020:
I always had an inquisitiveness about the outside world. I love exploring new landscapes and ecosystems. I find I ask questions a lot about what I see. For example: what species is that tree? Or why do peacocks have such vibrant feathers? Therefore, I enjoyed biology at school and went on to study Zoology at university. After my undergrad degree I worked on a farm and here everything ‘clicked.’ I started to see first-hand how we rely so much on nature for vital services and how we need to use natural resources responsibly. This is what inspired me to carry out a masters in environmental bioscience. I really loved my dissertation. I enjoyed researching what had already been done, collecting data, analysing the data and then working out what my data meant and how it related to the bigger picture. I could totally see myself doing this full time. So working on a farm inspired me to work in environmental conservation /agriculture but doing a dissertation inspired me to be a researcher.
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Gareth Mason answered on 13 May 2020:
I hated science subjects at school, and definitely did not see myself as a scientist as I thought that mean you had to work in a laboratory and do chemistry/physics/biology.
It wasn’t until I was a lot older (21) that I started further studies as a forester, and then on to an Environmental Science degree at Stirling. I was still uncomfortable with calling myself a scientist until a lecturer asked me what it would take to become one and that made me think a lot. An inquisitive disposition, being willing to learn from mistakes, carrying out experiments, and using evidence and facts to make decisions are all part of the scientific mind.
Although I “only” work with trees and animals, I have to use lots of scientific methods and thinking to do my job so although I am still not wearing a lab coat, I am now happy to call myself a scientist!
Comments
Shaline commented on :
Two of my chemistry teachers in school, one of whom had done a PhD himself. Both of my teachers always taught us with so much passion, and when I mentioned to them that I would maybe one day like to do some research they both pushed me to pursuit it. I also really enjoyed Chemistry in school, and then after my Neuroscience degree at University College London, I couldn’t not pursue a research career.
Matthew (known as Kaan by commented on :
I did a chemistry practical in year 12 making aspirin from silver birch bark and it really showed me how something as simple as a one step reaction could take something trivial like silver birch bark and make it into something amazing like aspirin. The power of science is amazing and being able to help people is a really good feeling.
sophiesteward commented on :
I always enjoyed science as a kid, i also wanted to be a vet for the longest time. I had studied Bio-Veterinary Sciences as my undergraduate. One of the very last modules i took diring my studies was conservation biology, which i thoroughly enjoyed, so decided to further that instead into a masters degree for wildlife conservation. There are so many different aspects to both subjects that are all so much fun, looking at DNA and learning to understand how it works, animal health and nutrition, behaviour, working with hormones to determine stress levels in wild animals in captivity and in the wild to compare if the levels in captivity are normal. It all a lot of fun dealing with different types of media, one of my first sessions in a lab was comparing how well different types of soap work for washing your hands, and taking a swab of our hands after washing and putting it onto agar then seeing the different tyoes of bacteria develop. Counting them with the way we had to was a very tedious task, but actually seeing them with bith the naked eye and under a microscope was quite a lot of fun.