• Question: why did you choose to become a scientist?

    Asked by anon-284211 on 27 Feb 2021. This question was also asked by anon-285637, anon-285567, anon-285343, anon-285891, anon-285886, anon-285397, anon-286480, anon-287570, anon-287313, anon-290174, anon-290185, anon-286583, anon-285337, anon-287284, anon-290120, anon-290181, anon-287241, anon-287246, anon-287238, anon-290728.
    • Photo: Miriam O'Duill

      Miriam O'Duill answered on 27 Feb 2021:

      I wanted a job where I learn something new every day and never stop being amazed.

    • Photo: Amy Sanders

      Amy Sanders answered on 27 Feb 2021:

      I wanted to be useful!
      I’d done work experience in a university lab and decided that wasn’t what I wanted to do, so no PhD for me.
      Then when I learnt about the role of Clinical Scientists and Biomedical Scientists I decided that was what I wanted to do, I wanted to work in hospitals helping the doctors work out why their patients were sick, and maybe help with their recovery.

    • Photo: Soneni Ndlovu

      Soneni Ndlovu answered on 27 Feb 2021:

      When I was in high school, one of my teachers who happened to be the departmental head of Science was impressed with my love for maths and asked me to pick up science subjects. My perception of science students up to that point was the book worm, large glass lenses, without friends stereotypes so I resisted a lot but he convinced me to give it a try. It was then that I discovered that my inquisitive mind was actually a good thing as I get to ask questions and answer them in the lab by making and analysing substances.

    • Photo: Zahra Rattray

      Zahra Rattray answered on 27 Feb 2021:

      My sister had cancer and I wanted to learn how chemo worked. I wanted to discover new chemo medicines so I could help people with cancer. That’s why I decided to become a scientist.

    • Photo: Michael Walford

      Michael Walford answered on 28 Feb 2021:

      I was good at Chemistry at school, and it was one of my favourite subjects, and I was encouraged that I should study a subject at university that I enjoyed.
      After doing a Chemistry degree, becoming a scientist seemed the next logical step

    • Photo: Paul O'Nion

      Paul O'Nion answered on 28 Feb 2021:

      I enjoyed the practical work at school and university, I wanted to mix chemicals & make things bubble up, use a bunsen etc. Now I enjoy using complex instruments to get a better understanding of the properties of everyday things.

    • Photo: Philip Camp

      Philip Camp answered on 28 Feb 2021:

      It’s good to be useful as a scientist, but I think it’s also important to really enjoy and be interested in the work. That goes for any career, not just those careers in science. So, in a way, I didn’t consciously choose to be a scientist: I was just really interested in the subject, and that led naturally to a career in that area. But I’ll add that there are not many careers that are as personally rewarding as discovering new things with a team of colleagues!

    • Photo: Matt Foulkes

      Matt Foulkes answered on 28 Feb 2021:

      Nice question! I’ve always been curious since I was young, wanting to know ‘how?’, ‘why?’, and so on. I really enjoyed science at school and was fascinated by seeing all of its various applications in real life. I found it fascinating and knew it was something I kept wanting to learn more about, as I went through school and then university. Even now, there’s still so much science we don’t know the answers to – I’m still learning things every day! I knew I wanted a job that would always keep me thinking and interested (I’m NEVER bored!). I also wanted to do something where I knew I would be contributing towards the next new scientific advances for patients, such as new drugs. My job has all of this and I love it!

    • Photo: Nikita King

      Nikita King answered on 28 Feb 2021:

      I had an amazing science teacher, that showed how science explained the every day world around us. I really enjoyed the process of doing experiments and understanding why or how they worked, that got me really interested in science. Still, I wasn’t sure which area of science I was most interested in – there are so many different areas of science to get interested in. I got to try different things and now really enjoy what I do.

    • Photo: Mickella Dawkins

      Mickella Dawkins answered on 28 Feb 2021:

      I chose to become a chemist because…

      (1) I have a genuine love for chemistry, due in part to my awesome chemistry teachers, Mrs Jackson and Ms Amure, who both nurtured my love for chemistry

      (2) Your work/research can potentially help to make the world better for future generations

    • Photo: Chris Thomson

      Chris Thomson answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I’ve always been good at chemistry and I wanted to use those skills to give something back to society.

    • Photo: Phil Thorne

      Phil Thorne answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I wanted a job where I could help people with disease. Whilst at school I considered nursing, doctor, pharmacist, drug research. My A-level grades pushed me in to chemistry and eventually into drug research as a medicinal chemist.

    • Photo: Fabio Nudelman

      Fabio Nudelman answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I was interested in science since high school, and liked the idea of finding out how things work. So went for a science degree at the university and really enjoyed it, I liked the lab work and just kept going.

    • Photo: Zuzanna Konieczna

      Zuzanna Konieczna answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      Throughout high school I became really interested in science and the practical aspects of it. I enjoyed all lab sessions (even the ones where my reactions wouldn’t work, or I would clumsily drop a vial/beaker with my compound), and wondering why and how things happen. I went to study chemistry at university, and fell even more in love with the subject. It’s a job that always keeps you on your toes – no two days are ever the same, and when you answer one question, another one appears!

    • Photo: Ben Esse

      Ben Esse answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I wanted to learn about how the world worked and why things happen the way they do. I’m still learning new things every day!

    • Photo: Marcel Jaspars

      Marcel Jaspars answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      Part of it was that I always wanted to be a scientist as I had neighbours and family friends who showed me some chemistry experiments and one of them even showed me their lab. I realised I could do something useful with it like find cures to treat sick people (like my grandmother, who was not well, when I decided this). I also found I was quite good at it when I studied it at school. I had great teachers who inspired me and let me do some of my own experiments.

    • Photo: Isolda Romero-Canelon

      Isolda Romero-Canelon answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I think I enjoy science and experimenting so much that I could take them as a hobbie…. so why not do your hobbie as your job…being a scientist allows me to do that.
      Every day I wake up happy to go to work and ask myself what fastatic new thing I will I learn today

    • Photo: Jesko Koehnke

      Jesko Koehnke answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      There was not really a choice for me. I was always fascinated by how things work, and then my parents got me a chemistry set when I was five. Sometimes I think they wish they hadn’t because there were a number of accidents and small fires… What can you do when you are like that? Become a scientist! I feel very blessed that I get to do what I truly love as a job. That makes every day exciting.

    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I was good at science at school and found I was even better at it when I got to university. It seems liked something fun to do and it is!

    • Photo: Andrew Parrott

      Andrew Parrott answered on 1 Mar 2021:

      I have always liked science at school and had really amazing science teachers who went out of their way to do lots of demonstrations (unfortunately there is more paperwork these days, so some are maybe not possible anymore). I really liked the idea that you can learn how things work (e.g. why do you turn out of skids in the car, why is that material red, etc.). At University I leant that understanding (green) chemistry is critical if we are going to feed, cloth, and generally provide stuff for everybody whilst not wrecking the planet at the same time. I have been working in related fields ever since.

    • Photo: David August

      David August answered on 2 Mar 2021:

      Both my parents are scientists but originally I wanted be a medical doctor when I left school. I didn’t get into medical school and ended up doing my back up option – Chemistry. I chose chemistry, not because I dreamed of being a scientist or because I wanted a good degree or had a specific career in mind. I chose it because I just enjoyed it a lot.

      After finishing my degree, the best way I found to carry on doing what I enjoyed was to stay and do more. Although it’s now my job, I still haven’t really left University yet – 15 years later!

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