I have just visited a school where I talked to students
about my career and science careers in general. They asked me very interesting
questions that inspired me to write this post.
You can travel the world
Scientists are always going to conferences, sometimes within
their countries and sometimes abroad. Also, as a scientist you can do part of
your research in another lab. For example, I did my degree in Mexico, I then
travelled to the USA to gain experience in some techniques, and now I am
working in the UK. I love travelling and embracing new cultures, this job has
allowed me to do that.
Science is universal and has its own language
This is also related to the point above. Science follows the
same principles everywhere. It doesn't matter where you get your degree, you can move to a different country and work as a scientist there. For example, my
dad is a lawyer, he is great at what he does but law is different in different
countries. He could not just move from Mexico to the UK and be a lawyer here;
he would have to study again!
Careers in science are flexible
If being in the lab is not very rewarding or you don't enjoy
it as much, as a scientist there are other things you can do. For example:
* Are you good at communication? Then you can be on TV, or
write for a newspaper as a science journalist. You can also be a radio
presenter or work directly with the public.
* If you like politics you can influence politicians and science
policy, you can even be an MP!
* You can work in a charity organising events to raise money
for research, for example races, walks, etc.
* Do you like writing and correcting spelling mistakes? Then
you can work in a scientific journal, editing the articles that other scientists
want to publish.
* You can also organise the events that other scientists
attend, like the international conferences.
* If you like computers you can become a bioinformatician. Or
you can manage the web pages and social media accounts of the universities and
research centres.
* And also, you can sell or manufacture reagents and equipment;
remember research could not be done without these!
What skills do you need to be a scientist? From my personal
experience, I think perseverance is one of the most important ones. Experiments
in science don't work most of the time, you can't give up and you have to go
on. You also have to be creative, good with numbers and like to analyse data. And
finally, you have to learn English if it isn't you mother tongue. Science is written
mainly in English, international conferences are held in English, so there's no
escaping this one I'm afraid!
I am sure I have missed more areas where scientists work and
other skills that are also important. If you know of others why not add them to
the comments? You might also want to share your experiences on why being a
scientist is cool.