• Question: how did you become scientists

    Asked by 672strk39 to Chris, Georgina, Kristi, Laura, Livia on 15 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Kristi Sawyer

      Kristi Sawyer answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      I think I am still becoming a scientist! I knew I liked science in GCSE and A-level, so I decided to study Biomedical Sciences/Pharmacology (the study of drugs) at university. There, I got experience of working in a lab, which is very different to experiments you do in science at school! This made me want to study for my PhD, which is a second degree where I get to choose the topic of my research, so I really get to spend my time on something that truly fascinates me. That’s my story of ‘becoming a scientist’, but there are lots of other routes too, some of which wouldn’t involve PhDs necessarily. For example, after my first degree, I could have gone to work for a drug company or other scientific industry, there are a lot of possibilities!

    • Photo: Livia Carvalho

      Livia Carvalho answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      I started a work placement in a lab during the second year of my university. I used to work nights and weekends doing experiments and got my first paper published then. I enjoyed it so much I decided to continue on an MSc and then a PhD, then moved to the UK for a post-doc…and here I am!

    • Photo: Laura Ginesi

      Laura Ginesi answered on 16 Nov 2017:

      I knew I wanted to become a scientist when I was a teenager.

      I did my first degree and wanted to work in a research lab, so I did my PhD followed by post-doc. research. Then I had babies; my priorities changed a bit and I started to get more chances to teach – and discovered I was good at it!

      My students say I am very enthusiastic and that I help them understand it. I still love science and there is always something new to learn; I’m not ready to give up being a scientist yet!

    • Photo: Georgina Hazell

      Georgina Hazell answered on 16 Nov 2017:

      Just followed my interests really. Did a degree in Anatomy, really liked learning about hormone systems in my final year… and it just went from there really.

Comments