• Question: what inspired you guys to be scientists

    Asked by greywolf01 to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim, Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 12 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by olliep, poisen2, charlie42, gabrielle09, cozzie12, ameera, h6nn6h, lesliechow, hyperactiveev12, buddingscientist, cinnamond, chubbub, curlza123, charlottew27, balletshoes1998, funkymonkey, cerys, robynandjakob.
    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 10 Mar 2012:

      I never really planned to become a scientist. At school I liked science subjects but I also loved art too, and it was a big decision for me to choose one over the other when I started my A-levels.

      I travelled a bit with my parents when I was little, and it made me curious about the world – I guess that is the beginning of being a scientist, when you see something and you want to know why, or how, or when… Some really good teachers helped me develop that curiosity into a career!

    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 10 Mar 2012:

      It was always really just being interested in science. I actually never really planned to do it for a job until fairly recently. I have done a few different jobs and it took me a while to realise that I wanted to be a scientist! So I learned that you can always change your mind about what you want to do!

      Even if I wasn’t doing it for a job I would probably do some kind of science as a hobby. I did an Open University course part time while I was working, which is what really got me into planetary science.

    • Photo: Nazim Bharmal

      Nazim Bharmal answered on 10 Mar 2012:

      When I was growing up, I was always really interested in technology and how things worked. Especially computers and TV. I also really liked being outdoors and my favourite subject at school was geography. Plus, there used to be a really cool (well, I thought it was!) TV programme called “Tomorrow’s World”, which you can probably find on Youtube.

      Put all that together, and that I not great at languages, I studied Maths, Physics, Chemisty and Geography at A-level. I still couldn’t decide what to do at university. I was lucky that the course I got into let me study 4 subjects in the first year, and I finally decided to concentrate on Physics.

      Then I saw a really interesting PhD project that combined studying the outside and technology; how stars twinkle (basically!) and how we can stop them doing that because it spoils the astronomy images taken by telescopes.

      Basically, I never decided to become a scientist, it just seemed to be the most interesting thing to do and I was lucky that I was given the chance to study and study (and study more!) and eventually get a job which is pretty amazing. (And, I don’t have to wear a suit or tie very often either—bonus!)

    • Photo: Catherine Rix

      Catherine Rix answered on 11 Mar 2012:

      I read a lot of science fiction and watched a lot of Star Trek! Also I had some great teachers.

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      I just liked solving problems, and was good at maths. And I thought astronomy was fascinating. As soon as I discovered people would pay you to learn about astronomy I was in! 😉

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