• Question: did you ever whant to be something other than a scientist

    Asked by mrquibble to Clare, Mariana, Pedro, Robert, Susanne on 9 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by purpledino, bethany10.
    • Photo: Robert Insall

      Robert Insall answered on 9 Nov 2012:

      Um, no.

      So I’m lucky I still am one after 30 or so years. I’m still interested. Still argue about science with my wife (also a scientist) all the time. That spooks people. They think we turn off science when we go home, and watch TV or something. But if you are interested in science and like discussing it doesn’t that beat strictly?

      One thing, though. Research is a pretty insecure career, so I always had a spare job to do just in case I failed (mostly using science, or doing things like fixing computers – a science degree is really good for getting jobs). But I’m safe for a bit now.

    • Photo: Susanne Muekusch

      Susanne Muekusch answered on 10 Nov 2012:

      Back at school I considered to do something in the direction of the artistic professions or something scientific. We had to do an internship, the advertising agency did not take me, but a big research institute did. That’s when the decision was made.

      Now I am reconsidering. Like Robert already said: It’s an insecure career. And there are almost no jobs where you can just happily do your research. You have to head towards professorship and that really is not what I want to do!

      Like 90% of PhD students I am now looking into careers outside of university. My favourite job would have to do with science communication between scientists. I really would enjoy doing science illustration, and that’s where ends meet, coming back to a bit of an artistic job.

    • Photo: Mariana Campos

      Mariana Campos answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      umm, no. I wanted to be a hairdresser, a dancer, a teacher, a photographer… So many things! So I do science as my job and dance, photography and “teaching” (more science communication) as my hobbies 🙂

    • Photo: Clare Taylor

      Clare Taylor answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      No, not really! I’ve always loved science and always hoped I would become a scientist and I’ve been lucky with jobs that I’ve applied for and have been able to do the science I love. I now have a permanent job so I’m secure for now. If I wasn’t a scientist, it’s hard to imagine what I might be doing instead – maybe I’d be a chef because I really like cooking and it can be scientific when you are experimenting with recipes! Having said that, I took part in a cooking competition recently and I was so nervous my hands were shaking for the whole time so maybe I had best stick to my science!

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