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Asked by florence on 27 Jun 2023. This question was also asked by arms490ugh.
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Robbie Lynch answered on 27 Jun 2023:
Truthfully even as a kid I always valued intelligence and knowledge over physical activities despite loving sport. I think a large part of it was the TV shows and cartoons I watched as a grew up. As a kid I watched the cartoon Dexter’s Laboratory which portrayed a genius child who loved science doing extraordinary things. Then as I entered my teens I discovered “The Big Bang Theory” which still might be my favorite show to watch. I would not call these highly flawed fictional characters “role models” but the passion they showed for science ignited that spark in me.
I think the reason I wanted to be a scientist was that scientists can do amazing things without being blessed with amazing physical talents. A scientist or in this day and age a group of scientists can realistically change the whole world with their hard work and not many professions can have that kind of impact.
One day a scientist will make the breakthrough that cures aging, another day a scientist will lead the team that develops a cheap cure for cancer and one day a scientist will clone an extinct species back into the world. It will be a massive effort across multiple fields to implement any of these things into the world but a scientist will be the one that gets the ball rolling.
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Mona-Lisa Kwentoh answered on 27 Jun 2023:
I had a supportive mentor who encouraged me into science and my subsequent entry into medical school.
I became a psychiatrist following my encounter with a patient who had mental health difficulties during my undergraduate clinical placement.
It opened my eyes to the area of medicine that looked at the connection between the human mind , brain and behaviour which for me is very interesting.That patient encounter led to me “finding my calling !” 😊.
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Sophie Shaw answered on 28 Jun 2023:
I never really intended to be a scientist as a career! Originally I wanted to be a medical doctor, but didn’t get a place at med school. Therefore I went on to do a science degree, with the intention of still going into medicine after, but it turned out that I really enjoyed the problem solving and discovery of science!
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Dan Brunsdon answered on 28 Jun 2023:
I actually found my area of work by accident! I used to love history in school and so when I went to college I chose the history A level and just picked anthropology at random to fill my timeslots because who’s ever heard of anthropology really? Well when I used to procrastinate doing my coursework by revising anthropology for fun I figured I may as well make this what I do instead! Luckily I was able to transfer onto an anthropology joint honours course after my uni application and the rest snowballed from there.
I think the main reason I’ve ended up in this area of science is the same reason why I was originally going to be doing history – I managed to find the area that connected with me and that I enjoyed doing. Everything becomes a lot easier when you like your work so I just try to not lose that early enjoyment and just have fun with it!
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Fran Biggin answered on 28 Jun 2023:
I don’t think there was ever a moment when I decided that I wanted to be a scientist, it’s a career that I have grown into over the years. I’ve always been the sort of person that wants to know why things happen, so I suppose being a scientist is a natural fit for me because at its core science is all about asking questions like ‘how’ and ‘why’.
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Millie Karega answered on 28 Jun 2023:
I have always enjoyed science at school so a career in science was naturally “for me” from a young age. Initially, I wanted to be a doctor but due to some personal reasons I was unable to join medical school after sixth form college. So I went on to study a science subject at University with the plan of eventually going back to study Medicine. Well, it’s been almost 15 years! Lol. I enjoy my job and if i ever go back to study Medicine then that would be out of passion/further learning as opposed to just changing my career.
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Hannah Scholes answered on 28 Jun 2023:
I always enjoyed tinkering with things when I was little and always wanted to know how and why things worked. I remember spending hours in the garden making “potions” with whatever bits of flowers and leaves I could find, and I loved watching the show “Brainiac” on TV. I also remember going to a science fair with my school in year 6 and watching a scientist in a tie-dyed lab coat do loads of really cool experiments – one that sticks in my memory is exploding custard!
My school science teachers were great as well. They were all really enthusiastic and excited about the things they taught, and I think that has definitely rubbed off on me!
Strangely enough, I suppose, part of me always wanted to be a musician (I play the flute), but I sort of fell even more in love with science and just kept going with it. I still play my flute in my spare time though – you might be surprised at how many scientists/doctors have some kind of creative outlet!
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Bruno Silvester Lopes answered on 28 Jun 2023:
The groundbreaking work of several scientists that have led the way for innovation inventions is one of the main reason why I wanted to become a scientist. Besides this I am always very curious about everything and can’t rest till I get answers. I am also fascinated by people who came from disadvantaged backgrounds but who never gave up on their dreams and worked incredibly hard to achieve them. Thank you 😊
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Clare Morrow answered on 29 Jun 2023:
I really enjoyed chemistry at school and had two really inspiring teachers – they made the lessons fun – even when the experiments failed! It also helped that one Christmas i got a chemistry set (i expanded it to set 7 with pocket money), microscope and electronic circuit board.
So then i looked at how i could use science for work and decided on medical science. -
Caroline Addey answered on 30 Jun 2023:
I wanted to have a job where I could find out new things, solve problems and change things for the better in the world.
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Sophie Stephens answered on 30 Jun 2023:
I wanted to help improve lives and problem solve. Plus I loved the look of a lab coat when I was younger! I want to make small contributions to research that will hopefully be built on by other scientists and become something that truly helps people, especially those suffering with rarer cancers like endometrial cancer
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Dawn Sutherland answered on 30 Jun 2023:
I was interested in biology at school and so went on to study that at university. I got a job while studying as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in a hospital haematology lab and worked wth Biomedical Scienists. Thats when I decided I wanted to become one.
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Simon Anderson answered on 30 Jun 2023:
Personal interest, accidental encounters and a want to understand more.
Science was always interesting to me with inspiring teachers at school really helped to show how broad and interesting science is. Healthcare science in particular was always a real interest to understand what the body does, why it does it and how can we fix it when it goes wrong.
It can be difficult to understand quite how many different scientific fields are out there to work in and the career that I now have is a large part down was a chance encounter. Before talking to this person I did not even know what cardiac physiology was and the scope of what they did was, but it showed me a way I could apply my interest in the science, of how the heart works, to a desire to want to help people. I think this was a key aspect in wanting to be a scientist- finding a role that I had instant affinity with, an area that instantly got me asking questions like ‘well what about’. Work experience and talking to scientists (like on this great platform) help in understanding what is out there and quite how many options science has to have a really fulfilling and rewarding career.
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Chigozie Onuba answered on 30 Jun 2023:
I became a Scientist because, I liked science in school, So at Uni studied Biomedical Science including undertaking my clinical training.
Being a scientist enables me to play a major part in patient care pathway through the diagnostic work I do in order to find out why a patient is feeling unwell, best treatment course, monitor the effectiveness of treatment, including preventation of disease.
Also as a scientist I am able to take part in research and teaching.
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Lena Forsyth answered on 30 Jun 2023:
I guess it’s a long story and comes from some very personal experiences. I live with a rare disease which I was diagnosed with as a baby. So all my life I have been back and forth from hospital. I got lots of blood tests done regularly and I was curious as to how my Dr could make decisions about my care from numbers from all these blood tests. Then I learned about biomedical science during a careers session at school when we were doing some online research. And that was it the dots started to connect when I learned that Biomedical Scientists were the ones testing blood (and other body fluids, swabs etc). I found out RGU my local uni did the exact programme I needed to become a Biomedical Scientist that was my goal set. I also loved biology and chemistry at school and I was just something I was good at. I now know the massive impact I am making on patient care and I am so proud to work for the NHS health board who has cared for me since day 1.
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Cheryl Williams answered on 2 Jul 2023:
I enjoy science!
I always said I wanted a job that was practical, that wasn’t sat in an office 9-5 Monday to Friday.
I also wanted to work in healthcare and employ my science skills. My job as Biomedical Scientist lets me do this. I have been a scientist for 21 years now so I must be doing something right 🙂 -
Kip Heath answered on 4 Jul 2023:
It was (and is) the thing I find most interesting that I could reasonably make a living out of. I do science comedy in the evenings but until I can make it big then I will still be in science. 🙂
Comments
Chigozie commented on :
I wanted to be a scientist because firstly I liked science is school chemistry and biology subjects and was always fascinated by how health problems can be solved through science and medicine. So I decided I was going to be a scientist and or a clinician after Uni.
Blair commented on :
When I was at school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I naturally always asked ‘why?’ from a young age which looking back is a sign I was already starting to think like a scientist. At the time I just chose the subjects I enjoyed the most and a big part of the reason I enjoyed them was because I had a natural talent for them. When it came to choosing what subjects to choose for University, I didn’t know what career I wanted to go into yet so I kept my options open by choosing a joint degree of my two favourite subjects (maths and physics). I think it’s rare that someone knows what they want to do at a young age, I just followed my interests in the hope I might find the right fit for me