• Question: how did you become a scientist?

    Asked by microsoftman to Mark, David, Luna, Melanie, Probash on 19 Mar 2011 in Categories: . This question was also asked by newlynben, mmsp.
    • Photo: Luna Munoz

      Luna Munoz answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      First, I always liked science and math. The universities I went to in the US were what you call ‘liberal arts’, which means you need to take a broad range of subjects. I decided to take physics (a double module class for pre-medicine and pre-veterinarian majors) even though I was a psychology major. I did well and I then took human biology classes and neuropsychology classes along with psychology. This subject based learning was the beginning.

      Then, I had practical learning. I conducted experiments with supervisors who had access to equipment that could measure brain waves. I also volunteered to work in any professor’s lab that would have me.

      After this, I had the experience to study at post-graduate level. I studied as a post-graduate in psychobiology (MSc). Then, I earned my PhD in both applied developmental psychology and biopsychology. That’s how I became a scientist and now I conduct studies on my own

    • Photo: Melanie Stefan

      Melanie Stefan answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      I went to university to do maths and genetics. I did two lab internships while studying and then spent a whole year in the lab doing research for my MSc thesis. I wanted to be very, very sure that being a scientist was really what I wanted to do. It was, so I applied for a PhD position in England, which worked out nicely.

    • Photo: David Pyle

      David Pyle answered on 19 Mar 2011:

      I grew into it. My hobby as a child (collecting rocks, reading everything I could about volcanoes…) turned into the subject I specialised in at University (Geology), and then began researching for a PhD (Volcanology).

      At school, I realised that I need sciences and maths in order to be able to study Geology, so this dictated my choices at A-level. There are lots of ways into science!

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