• Question: What subjects would you need to study to become a cancer researcher?

    Asked by anon-326051 to David on 18 May 2022.
    • Photo: David MacLean

      David MacLean answered on 18 May 2022:

      Hi Keira,

      It is very varied! So it depends on what you are wanting to do in cancer research. If you want to do what I do (work in a lab and use pipettes, work on cancer cells in a dish or potentially in animals) then the easiest way to get here would be to study biology in school and then University. Just because biology is the most straightforward, that doesn’t mean it is the only way to become a cancer researcher. I studied Chemistry at University and I know people who are chemists and engineers who also work in the same place as me.

      As I said, the most straightforward way to cancer research is to study biology, but there are other ways to get into the job through other degrees but these might be a little more difficult.

      Thanks for the question, Keira 🙂

Comments

  • Photo: Iain

    Iain commented on :

    I studied engineering as a student and thought that I would be building computers.

    • Photo: Iain

      Iain commented on :

      I’d pushed submit too soon….. d’oh.

      I didn’t plan to do cancer research.

      I did stuff that I was interested in and the next step what something else that is interesting. Then you start to get good at what you’re doing and then more stuff becomes interesting as well.

      … then you find out that your knowledge and skills are valuable in another field.

      I think that my goal was to do fun stuff.