• Question: how can I become a scientist and what degrees/courses would you recommend to study

    Asked by anon-231247 to Tom, Steven, Jessica, Haafizah, Clio, Bruno Silvester on 15 Nov 2019. This question was also asked by anon-231251, anon-230925, anon-230927, anon-230933, anon-230929.
    • Photo: Bruno Silvester Lopes

      Bruno Silvester Lopes answered on 15 Nov 2019:

      You need to do a Bachelors and a PhD or a Bachelors, Masters and PhD. there are several courses and you can find more about them at specific uni websites. I did my bachelors in microbiology and biochemistry, then a masters in biochemistry and finally a PhD in microbiology (bacteriology)

    • Photo: Steven Rudder

      Steven Rudder answered on 15 Nov 2019:

      Continue to study Biology, Physics, or Chemistry at school and college. At University you can focus in more depth on the subject area you like most.

    • Photo: Clio Andreae

      Clio Andreae answered on 18 Nov 2019:

      You’ll need a BSc in a science degree, then either a masters if you want to go straight into Industry or a PhD if you are thinking of pursuing a academic career in Science. I went straight from my Undergraduate Biology degree into a PhD without having to do a Masters.

    • Photo: Jessica Mitchell

      Jessica Mitchell answered on 21 Nov 2019:

      Start off by focusing on maths and science at school, figure out which bits you like best and what you are particularly good at. If you can, do some volunteering and work experience in these areas to see if you like the jobs in this type of scientific field. Then you can start thinking about university, pick a Batchelors degree in subject that you really like and in a place that you would fee happy living in (make sure you ask advice of the people you trust but ultimately this is your decision). Doing a Batchelors degree is your first step into science, make the most of all the chances you get to do work experience and work with other scientists. You might find that you change your mind about what you like doing and that’s fine. Science degrees open up so many opportunities for work in science, teaching, education, finance, construction, research, conservation, lab work, food production, I could go on and on!

      You could decide to do a masters degree once you are more certain about what you like and then a PhD (you can call yourself Dr after this!). This is when you start to do your own research into a science problem that really interests you, its tough and you need to work hard but if you love what you do it will be really rewarding.

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