• Question: When did you become a scientist

    Asked by anon-321653 on 10 Jun 2022.
    • Photo: Zahra Massoud

      Zahra Massoud answered on 10 Jun 2022: last edited 10 Jun 2022 1:59 pm

      I went to uni to study cancer biology when I was 18, but I wouldn’t have called myself a scientist until I started doing independent research projects during my masters, when I was 21. That was 5 years ago!

    • Photo: Karin Purshouse

      Karin Purshouse answered on 10 Jun 2022:

      Hmmm.. I think I’m still learning to become one! Perhaps during my Masters degree, which was when I was 26. I qualified as a doctor when I was 23/24 and then took a year out after working for two years where I was a visiting researcher abroad.

    • Photo: Ryan Devlin

      Ryan Devlin answered on 10 Jun 2022:

      I became a scientist properly two years ago, when I started my PhD. However, ever since I looked through my Dad’s telescope at the stars and planets, I have always had a fascination with science. There are a ton of experiments that you can do right now if you want to become scientists too – just ask your teacher.

    • Photo: Erminia Romano

      Erminia Romano answered on 11 Jun 2022:

      I think being a scientist is “working in progress”, but if I have to give a specific moment, I think it was when I got my PhD.

    • Photo: Sophie Richardson

      Sophie Richardson answered on 13 Jun 2022:

      Looking at the replies already, I think everyone’s definition of ‘scientist’ is different! I also didn’t feel like a proper scientist until just before I started by PhD when I was working on my own project in my job at Cancer Research UK Manchester.

      However, being a scientist doesn’t have to be a full time thing. In my opinion, you don’t have to have a job as a scientist to be one, it can be a hobby. Many people help scientists in their spare time, particularly in environmental sciences, to collect data on plants and animals they see in their local area.

    • Photo: Saadia Karim

      Saadia Karim answered on 13 Jun 2022:

      I decided to be a scientist at school and luckily got my first job as a research scientist 6 months after finishing my masters degree. I have been a research scientist ever since (22 years).

    • Photo: Chelsea Gerada

      Chelsea Gerada answered on 13 Jun 2022:

      I loved biology in high school and this lead me to study a bachelors of medical science at university because I was interesting in how the human body worked. Originally I was planning to apply for a medical degree but I decided to do a years research project to see if I would like it. I absolutely loved it and I felt like my best skills were useful in this career path. I then decided to do my PhD to pursue a career in medical research and thats where my career started.

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