• Question: what was your biggest obstacle while becoming a scientist?

    Asked by anon-191208 to Kathryn, Chris, Graeme, Anne, Agnes, Adam on 5 Nov 2018. This question was also asked by anon-191656, anon-191703.
    • Photo: Kathryn

      Kathryn answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Becoming a scientist requires hard work first to get the qualifications. Then the jobs are limited. There is an element of luck but you have to be ready to grab those opportunities when they come along by building your skills and experience.

      Actual obstacles I have not really faced as I found science to be a welcoming and open place for all.

    • Photo: Chris Davies

      Chris Davies answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      I agree with Kathryn, gaining the qualifications can be very difficult. I am working towards becoming chartered in the next few years too which is another pile of work.

    • Photo: Anne Green

      Anne Green answered on 8 Nov 2018: last edited 9 Nov 2018 12:13 am

      Theoretical physics is very competitive. There are more people with good qualifications than there are jobs (there’s a limit to the number of theoretical physicists the world needs!). This meant I had to move to different cities several times and I spent many years living in a different city, or even country, to my partner.

      However most areas of science are less competitve than theoretical physics. And studying Physics is enjoyable and useful. People with physics degrees and PhDs go on to work happily in a wide range of different fields.

    • Photo: Agnes Wojtusiak

      Agnes Wojtusiak answered on 12 Nov 2018:

      Realising that being a scientist is a real job!!!

    • Photo: Adam McGuinness

      Adam McGuinness answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Having to go to university for 3 years before I could do research, but Uni is lots of fun so it wasn’t that hard!

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