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Asked by scientist360 to Anne, Arthur, Rose, Ruhina, Thomas on 15 Jun 2015.
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Rose Simnett answered on 15 Jun 2015:
Hey,
My advice would be to really get involved with whatever you can. I did two summer projects when I was at uni and these gave me a good idea of what science research was like. It really helped me to decide that I wanted to do a PhD.
I also think it’s very important to be critical of your own work. You have to make sure you can definitely prove what you think has happened in a reaction. I would recommend reading ‘Bad Science’ by Ben Goldacre, it gives a good insight into how a researcher should and should not think/carry out research.
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Ruhina Miller answered on 15 Jun 2015:
Don’t be disheartened when things don’t work – a lot of science is about finding out what doesn’t work as opposed to what does. I know many people say that but it is true – you just have to put it down to a useful learning experience! If something simply worked first time you won’t necessarily understand how and why it did so you might misinterpret what’s going on, whereas if you spent time fixing problems you’ll have a better understanding of the problem you are working on and will be able to fix problems in the in the future easily if they happen again or apply this to other problems that you face.
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Anne Canning answered on 15 Jun 2015:
I agree, definitely get involved in as many things as you can, I would advise to keep this broad especially early on, so that you get to experience lots of different areas in science, that way you can really decide what you want to specialise in. I find the more I enjoy something, the more I put into it.
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Thomas Farrugia answered on 22 Jun 2015:
Ahoy – I’d recommend watching Carl Sagan’s Cosmos (or reading the book) and reading up on general principles of science – it’s all too often that we learn the subjects like biology, chemistry and physics without understanding the actual methodology and thinking processes in science.
If you’re interested in a particular subject it’s also great to read up a bit on it’s history – I had read a book on the history of chemistry and the chemists involved in it and it was great (and at times highly amusing!) stuff – purely because it portrays science as what it is – a human endeavour to better understand the world around us through empirical means.
And if you get the opportunity to do science at any time – go for it! I’ve been involved in a number of projects and spent my summers doing some internships and the like – it definitely opens up your eyes to what’s possible and gives you an insight into what research really is about.
In general if you really like something and want to progress in it – be ready to put in the time and work, but also develop other skillsets and hobbies – you want to be a well-balanced human (who also happens to be a brill scientist) in the end 🙂
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Arthur Wilkinson answered on 23 Jun 2015:
I’d agree with the others, keep your early studies broad and read some books that give some idea of the wonder of science (see Thomas’ suggestion). I also like books that show that scientists are human (if sometimes a little strange (see “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”)
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