• Question: have you always wanted to do this job and it you didn't want to do then why did you choose it now

    Asked by anon-234834 to James, Iulia, Heather, Dan, Craig, Claire, Bryony, Ben, Amy on 12 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Amy Cameron

      Amy Cameron answered on 3 Mar 2020:

      This job did not exist when I was at school or even when I started my University degree. I have had no grand career plan, I have just followed a route of jobs that interest me. I liked science at school so did a biology degree. I wanted to do more science and discover things for myself, so I did a PhD. I did two further research positions after that but knew that I did not want to run my own lab and felt I had done all I wanted research wise in the lab. I had undertaken public engagement throughout my research career and became more interested in having a job in that area. A position came up, I applied and got it. I’ve been in this job for 3 and a half years and have learnt a lot of new skills. Who knows where I might end up next.

    • Photo: Claire Donald

      Claire Donald answered on 26 Mar 2020:

      No I didn’t. I went to university to do biology because it was my favourite subject at school. At uni I decided that I wanted to work in a hospital lab but to do that I needed to do another degree to get the right qualification. While I was doing my second degree I had to do a lab project over the summer. I loved it so much I decided to stay. Like Amy said, if you do what you enjoy, the right job will find you.

    • Photo: James Sullivan

      James Sullivan answered on 26 Mar 2020:

      since I knew this job existed I have wanted to do it.

    • Photo: Heather Eyre

      Heather Eyre answered on 26 Mar 2020:

      I did know that I wanted to do something related to science and in my head this probably meant some form of biology, but I didn’t know precisely what that meant until I went to university. Even then I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going, but “scientist” of some sort was always where I thought I would end up even if I didn’t quite know what that actually meant!

Comments

  • Photo: Ry

    Ry commented on :

    Basically no, when I was in school I was told not to apply for university!

    When I started my degree, my understanding of education and what I wanted to do changed. I still haven’t set out on my full term career yet, but working in a research environment brings out my best qualities and because I enjoy finding things out about the universe, I definitely want to remain a scientist for a little longer!

    Great question,

    Ry 😀