• Question: When did you start getting good at science?

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      Asked by Emily to Nikki, Andy, Chris, Harriet, Jess on 4 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by molly.k!.
      • Photo: Nikki D'Arcy

        Nikki D'Arcy answered on 4 Mar 2016:

        Hi, thanks for your question. That’s a tricky one! Every day I learn something new and there are always new techniques and experiments to do which I am not always good at right away.

        I think throughout my university degree I managed to pick up the skills you need to be a good scientist, like data presentation and critical analysis and how to plan and execute an experiment. Then my skills have been developed and added to over the years in my different jobs.

        So, there isn’t really one critical moment when I suddenly thought “Ah ha, I’m amazing at Science” but it develops slowly over the years until you feel confident that you know what to do and if you don’t, you know how to find out.

        Thanks again for your question!

      • Photo: Harriet Reid

        Harriet Reid answered on 4 Mar 2016:

        Probably when science became more about understanding and experimenting and less about learning facts (I have a terrible memory!). But I always enjoyed questioning why things happened and doing experiments.

      • Photo: andy chapman

        andy chapman answered on 4 Mar 2016:

        The last year of my PhD for sure…it all start dot come together and I was able to really invent stuff using everything I had learned

      • Photo: Christopher Blanford

        Christopher Blanford answered on 4 Mar 2016:

        Hi Emily

        For me, there are two parts: working in science and asking questions.

        I got good working in the lab in my early 20s. I had a lot of practice and training by then.

        I’m still learning how to ask good questions. You know, the ones that make you think and go ‘huh?’ and lead to things you can test and things that matter.

        Chris

      • Photo: Jessica Groppi

        Jessica Groppi answered on 4 Mar 2016:

        Hi Emily,

        thanks for your question!

        Well, at school I was getting good grades, so I thought “I’m good at science, this could be my job”, then I realised that in science there are many things to learn and try and sometimes I still feel like I’m not good at science at all.

        But I would say that I got much more confident during the PhD, when I started solving the problems I had with my experiments on my own and sometimes, I was also giving good suggestions to my supervisor.

        Jess.

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