• Question: What inspired you to become a scientist?

    Asked by anon-218621 to Shannah, Richard, Matthew (known as Kaan by, johnpaterson, Emma, Anna on 8 Jun 2019. This question was also asked by anon-217972, anon-217970, anon-218016, anon-218026, anon-218037, anon-218015, anon-218331, anon-218863, anon-218057, anon-218294.
    • Photo: Emma Markham

      Emma Markham answered on 8 Jun 2019:

      To be honest, I had never considered being a scientist, as I thought you needed to be a genius and I was only a C grade student. So when I was 16 I left school and worked full time in a shoe shop and part time in a DIY store, and studied a night course in tailoring. Once I qualified I tried to find an apprenticeship or work as a tailor but couldn’t find a job. This is when I went back to school to take my A-Levels and I fell in love with science. I studied hard, but because I had a natural curiosity for the subject it didn’t seem like hard work, especially because I has grown up on a farm and so lots of the concepts were second nature or I had seen first-hand but never knew a technical term for it. I particularly loved genetics, and so went on to study an undergraduate and masters specialising in it. Since then I had traveled and worked all around the world, as science is a universal language and set of skills. And that’s how I became a scientist!

    • Photo: Matthew Alkan

      Matthew Alkan answered on 10 Jun 2019:

      I kind of fell into it really. I did an experiment making asprin at 6th form which showed me how in just a few steps i had changed a piece of tree into a wonder drug which helps millions of people with pain world wide every day. I then went on to do a BSc in chemistry as its the subject i enjoyed most and then i got offered a PhD and here i am today.

      I also wanted to do something where i was able to change the world, even just a little bit, for the better and being a scientist is a great way to do that

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