• Question: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to study science at university?

    Asked by rachelmcguinness to Amy, Drew, Julia, Kimberley, Sara on 21 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by jimmybob, annelouise372, mccro123.
    • Photo: Amy MacQueen

      Amy MacQueen answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hey Rachel!! Go for it!!! Your questions have been amazing and I have thoroughly enjoyed answering them! If you are keen to do science and you enjoy it I would say to try to do your best in school and apply for a science course. The issue that the moment is that uni is getting expensive but you can always get loans and things!

      Hope it all goes well for you!! 🙂

    • Photo: Julia Griffen

      Julia Griffen answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hey Rachel.. A scientific degree sets you in good sted for the future, as they are sought after by employers. You gain many skills and experinences from a science degree that other subject just cant provide – practical experince is an example.

      |As for advice, good science A levels are advisable… however I did psychology A level.. and didn;t do maths or physics. (I do wish I had no tho) but its not the end of the world. I wanted to keep my options open at that stage. A science degree is hard work tho. long hours. But the future career prospects are worth it!

      What are you thinking of studying?>

    • Photo: Drew Rae

      Drew Rae answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hi Rachel – I agree with Amy. You’re already on the right track. I would suggest reading about careers that you can take with a science degree. Lots of university web-pages will have bits like “Where do students who take our courses end up”. It can be helpful going into university to have an end-goal in mind, and it puts your classes into perspective.

      Also, as an engineer myself, don’t forget about engineering as an option! You still learn a lot of science, but you’re a lot more employable. And if you want to continue science as a career like me, it’s still open to you!

    • Photo: Sara Imari Walker

      Sara Imari Walker answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Hi Rachel! Fantastic!! I am so happy to hear that you are interested in studying science! I agree with Amy, it seems like you have a real knack for it!

      The suggestions here are really great – hard work is the best course of action. Study, study, study! At least science is a lot of fun. Although all that study can be tedious at times! especially before exams =/ But it is totally worth it. I think checking out universities is a good idea. The sooner the better because it will give you an idea of the types of admission requirements they will be looking for. If you can, check out the profiles of incoming students to see what kinds of things helped them to get into their program at university. Also check out the outgoing student info too, to see if it lines up with things you might want to do when you graduate. It always pays to educate yourself and be a good detective with these things!

      In general I would say the two most critical qualities of a scientist are passion and hard work. Hard work is straight forward – study! But for me, with all the coursework, sometimes the best thing to keep the passion alive is to read popular science books or just chat with friends! That really makes the excitement of science shine and can really help get through some of the longer days of study =)

      Good luck!!!!!!!!!

Comments

  • Photo: rachelmcguinness

    rachelmcguinness commented on :

    Thank you so much for the answers 🙂 this has really helped me as I wasn’t sure how to find all the information on it 🙂
    and Julia, I really want to become a trauma surgeon or something to do with genetics and vaccines as I find it fascinating and I like learning about microbiology 🙂