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Asked by anon-198625 to Srinath, Natasha, Nana, Luisa, Gautam, Alex on 1 Mar 2019.
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Srinath Kasturirangan answered on 1 Mar 2019:
I have always wanted to be a scientist as long as I can remember! I was fascinated by the world around me, very inquisitive about nature and natural phenomenon. I was particularly interested in biology, very curious about how the body functioned. While other kids would squirm at rat or frog dissections, I was always right up there with the teacher trying to figure out the various internal organs. My parents and teachers noticed and nurtured my curiosity and set for me a path that would enable me to become a successful scientist. I hope I have lived up to their expectations and made them proud and that is what I strive for every single day.
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Marialuisa Crosatti answered on 3 Mar 2019: last edited 3 Mar 2019 10:52 am
I did a training internship to work with Helicobacter pilory (the bacteria causing ulcer) after my university degree and this is what led me to work with bacteria. I was 25 years old but I had being interested in biology and microbiology since I was 15 years old and the internship gave the opportunity to explore the world of bacteria further.
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Alexander Allen answered on 3 Mar 2019:
I have a bit to say on this one! – Short version at the bottom.
Like a lot of people, in school I was a huge fan of science. I chose subjects based on what I was good at and what interested me. When it came time to choose universities I was torn between physics and engineering but was won over by the open day I went to visit. When I did my degree in physics I was still not sure of what I wanted to do when I “grew up” and it was only when I was 21 that I was given a project that was so fun and involved looking at molecules with an electron microscope. At this point I fell in love with the subject and applied but I failed to get funding.
For the next four years I went into the world of work: I worked in a call center then I worked in IT support and finally I went travelling for 8 months, living in Germany. When I came back I applied for a PhD again and this time was able to get funding but couldn’t start until another year had passed. I worked in a company writing e-learning courses for lots of different clients including the united nations. Finally I started my PhD later than most at 25.
I chose the field because I really found something that I fell in love with and I encourage everyone to do the same! Also, remember… Your first choice doesn’t have to be your final choice.
I have friends who have started their degree in physics after doing completely different degrees. They realised that they were capable of studying and that they loved the material and that’s the best situation of all… to go to a job that you adore.
For the short version of this: I realised I wanted to be in my field when I was 21 and that was because I was put on a project that I fell in love with. This can happen to you when you are 12 but it can also happen when you are 30. Stay curious, don’t settle and find out what the best route for you is! Lots of roads lead to the same goal.
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Natasha Dowey answered on 4 Mar 2019:
I grew up in Cornwall, and loved going to the beach. The cliffs in Cornwall are pretty awesome, and I was really curious about them- why they formed, why they looked like they did. So I studied physical geography at GSCE and A level. I did some projects about volcanoes, and was hooked. Volcanoes are geology to the extreme- most rocks take millions of years to form, but volcanoes can create new rocks in minutes and days, and they impact so many parts of human lives. I found them really interesting, and went on to study them at university. Volcanoes link to many other aspects of earth science- plate tectonics, sedimentation, chemistry, deep earth processes, climate science, science communication… as I’ve got older my love of geology has got a lot bigger then just volcanoes, but volcano science will always be special to me as what got me hooked on my subject!
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Gautam Kambhampati answered on 4 Mar 2019:
I’d known I wanted to study physics for a really long time, but I didn’t choose my specific field until I was 21 and I went to visit a laser lab. I found it fascinating that such big machines could control something as small as an atom, and that they allowed us to look right down into the tiniest building blocks of the universe.
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Nana Odom answered on 6 Mar 2019: last edited 6 Mar 2019 9:35 am
I was 21 years old, in university pursuing a degree in physics and i had taken a gap year to travel abroad(UK) at the end of second year. I was on the bus to Elephant and Castle when i saw a Faraday building- department of Medical Physics (Kings college hospital). I had never heard of medical physics so i read about it. I contacted one of the lecturer in my university in Ghana who mentioned that they would be starting modules as medical physics option for 3rd years, which will be in addition to the already existing options; computing, optoelectronics and geophysics. I quickly knew that Medical Physics would be the right choice for me as it will be an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives especially having cared for my grand mum which i enjoyed doing. On return to Ghana, i arranged visits to the regional acute hospital where i shadowed physicists performing quality assurance testing on medical equipment and also one who was delivering a brachytherapy treatment for a patient with cervical cancer.
I completed my BSc. Physics with medical physics option in 2006. In 2007, i further pursued a masters in biomedical engineering and started my career in the NHS as a healthcare scientist in clinical engineering due to my passion to be in a career that exerts influence in the healthcare sector. Healthcare scientists(HCS) are a relatively small workforce group but have multiple impact on patients pathways. It is established that we contribute to 80% of diagnosis in NHS.
Find out more about various HCS careers using link below
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/career-advisers-and-teachers/teaching-resources/healthcare-science-weekI have been doing this for 10years and i find it fulfilling.
Comments
Leigh commented on :
When I was in high school (I was about 16), I needed to write an essay on a controversial issue that affects the world. My dad mentioned to me that nuclear power would be interesting to learn about, specifically fusion. While I was researching the paper, I found out more about fusion, which is a way of make power/electricity that is much safer and better for the environment than other forms of electricity. The only problem is that scientists haven’t figured out how to make it work yet! I became very excited about studying fusion and figuring out how to make it work so the world could have cheap, safe electricity.