• Question: what degrees do you need to become a scientist

    Asked by to Ben, Emily, Hattie, Jemma, Veronica on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Ben Butler

      Ben Butler answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      There are loads of different types of scientists out there who cover ALL aspects of biology, physics and chemistry. There are also just as many different degrees you can take if you would like to become a scientist.

      If you have a particular part of science that you’re interested in, then there might be a degree just for it… but if not, then you can’t go wrong with taking straight a broader degree such as biology, physics or chemistry.

      For example, in my degree I did Ocean Science. I then did a one year masters degree in Environmental Chemistry, and now I have merged the two together and I am a marine chemist! The world’s your oyster…

    • Photo: Veronica Celorrio

      Veronica Celorrio answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      You can become a scientist from many different backgrounds as Ben said.
      My undergrad was in Chemical Engineering, for example, but my research is always mainly been Chemistry

    • Photo: Emily Hayward

      Emily Hayward answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Great question EmilycJenkins!

      sometimes you dont even need a degree to be a scientist – it depends what sort of scientist you want to be. I did a chemistry degree, but mainly because that was my favourite subject at school. Its possible to do any degree you like and end up as a scientist, although generally its better to do a science degree in whattever you like most.

    • Photo: Jemma Rowlandson

      Jemma Rowlandson answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Hi guys!

      As the others have said, it really just depends what you want to do. All the sciences can be hard work, so there’s no point in doing something you don’t like. My degree was in chemistry, and to do my PhD I had to have a degree in either engineering, chemistry, physics or another science-related subject.

      Being a scientist is not all about doing a degree though, it’s a lot more than that. To be a scientist you have to want to answer the big questions, even the ones people are afraid to ask. Questioning everything, even your own results is also a good trait to have. Most importantly though, whatever you want to do, just make sure you enjoy it!

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