• Question: Did you know you wanted to work in the STEM unit since you were a child?

    Asked by anon-292573 on 20 Apr 2021.
    • Photo: Kip Heath

      Kip Heath answered on 20 Apr 2021:

      It’s hard to remember, but I think so. I have always been very pragmatic and other careers I considered (like writing) are far harder to make a career out of.

    • Photo: Steve Briddon

      Steve Briddon answered on 20 Apr 2021:

      I always knew I wanted to be/do something in science, but it wasn’t until late on (around A-levels/University) that I homed in on pharmacology research.

    • Photo: Quentin Leclerc

      Quentin Leclerc answered on 20 Apr 2021:

      Nope! My interest in science developed the more I learned about it 🙂 At school, I liked biology, but never imagined I would become a scientist. Maybe because at the time I didn’t know a lot about what scientists did? (I didn’t have access to something like “I’m a scientist” to ask these questions!)
      It was only at university that I realised that studying infectious diseases was what I enjoyed most, and that I wanted to do that every day. I understood that the best way for me to do that was to become a scientist, and now here I am!

    • Photo: Rosie Goodburn

      Rosie Goodburn answered on 20 Apr 2021:

      I actually loved physics (astronomy and atoms) when I was very young. However, at school, I didn’t always find the physics lessons that interesting. By the time I switched to A-levels and then university though, my love of physics had come back and I knew I wanted to do something that involved physics!

    • Photo: Chiara Panzi

      Chiara Panzi answered on 20 Apr 2021:

      Hi Lucia,

      I have always known I wanted to work in some scientific fields, but I did not know specifically what. Growing up and progressing with my studies I understood what my real passion was.

      During my high school years I enjoyed a lot all scientific subjects we were studying: maths, physics, chemistry, biology and even geology. However, I was extremely fascinated by chemistry and biology and I decided to enroll in a bachelor in Biotechnology. In the last year of my undergrad, I had few courses about neurophysiology and neurobiology: I realised those were my favorite subjects! I the did a master in neuroscience and I’m now doing a PhD in Neuroscience.

      My advice: follow your heart and instinct! If you like something, even if you think you are not good enough, and you see yourself working on that field in the future, go for it!
      Then, you may also realise later on that that was not the ideal for you. But it is never too late to change! For sure, if you never try, you will never discover what is better for you. So…don’t be afraid to try! 🙂

    • Photo: Abdullah Iqbal

      Abdullah Iqbal answered on 21 Apr 2021:

      Hi LuciaW,

      I decided to work on as a scientist in the field of stem cells ( cells that can become other cells) and neuroscience. After learning about it in a biology lesson. But the age does not matter. Have an open mind and think about the areas that interest you. But you do not have to worry about your career until much later just explore the subjects and topics that interest you and are fufilling.

    • Photo: Ed Peake

      Ed Peake answered on 21 Apr 2021:

      Yes. I enjoyed GCSE physics (great teacher) and thought I wanted to do it as a job.

    • Photo: Rebecca Reed

      Rebecca Reed answered on 21 Apr 2021:

      No! For a while I wanted to be a vet, then a chef, and it wasn’t until A Levels that I decided on science. Even then I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, it took me until I was about 21 to realize I wanted to do research.

    • Photo: Sian Green

      Sian Green answered on 21 Apr 2021:

      No, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was a child. I didn’t know any scientists when I was younger, so I didn’t know about all the different STEM jobs that even existed. When I had to chose subjects to study I just chose the ones I found most interesting and it somehow led me here 🙂

    • Photo: Lucile Crete

      Lucile Crete answered on 21 Apr 2021:

      Yes and no 🙂

      I wanted to become an archaeologist since primary school, and I never changed my mind, or considered an alternative. However, I had no idea (until I went to University!) that Archaeology was part of STEM! I had assumed that it had more to do with History than with physics, biology, chemistry… and I was wrong, as Archaeology combines all of these fields!

      It was a steep learning curve for me at first but I am very happy now that I got to become a scientist and learn so much about science (I am very proud too, as science subjects were not my strong suit at all back at school!).

    • Photo: Ross Low

      Ross Low answered on 23 Apr 2021:

      I was a really big science fiction fan when I was a kid but I had no idea about what I wanted to do when I grew up. I kept on doing my favourite subjects through school and university until I decided to keep doing them in my job. 🙂

    • Photo: Karrie Liu

      Karrie Liu answered on 23 Apr 2021:

      Honestly, I don’t think I understand the term “STEM” when I was young. But I always know that I love Maths and Number, and hope that I can make a career out of them.

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