• Question: do you beleive that anyone can be a scientist if they work hard and put in thew effort needed

    Asked by anon-188681 to Warren, Shanti, Pizza Ka Yee, Paul, Nadine, Alex on 12 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Nadine Mirza

      Nadine Mirza answered on 12 Nov 2018: last edited 12 Nov 2018 9:37 pm

      Oh absolutely.
      I know that the world we live in isn’t always necessarily fair- some people will have easier access to the jobs and resources we all want. That can also apply to sciences.
      But, a lot of being a scientist absolutely has to do with passion and hard work and there simply is no substitute for that. Scientists spend a lot of their time and effort dedicated to a particular area of study and you need to be devoted to it and work hard in it to succeed. Even if a substantial amount of extra energy is needed (and usually it is) I truly believe anyone can be a scientist. I just hope we get better at elevating everyone who wants to, no matter what their means.
      I think history has shown that time and time again with scientists from all sorts of backgrounds coming forward to make incredible discoveries and contributions, even during times where a lot could have and tried to stop them.

    • Photo: Alex Reid

      Alex Reid answered on 12 Nov 2018: last edited 12 Nov 2018 10:50 pm

      Hi Lara, thanks for the question. Yes I believe that anyone can be a scientist. As Nadine says though it is hard work and not everyone has the same advantages when it comes to starting out! Another thing to be mindful of is what exactly science involves. I think a lot of people believe that science is comprised of constant of ‘Eureka’ moments with people in white coats routinely cranking out amazing and interesting results. What people don’t see is the sheer effort that goes on behind the scenes to make this happen. While the type of effort varies from area to area it almost always includes a prolonged period of acquiring funding, planning an experiment, collecting data, careful analysis, and writing it all up for publication. This all takes time and energy. Also, sometimes an experiment might not work, or produce very clear results, so you have to be prepared to move on if your measures don’t turn out to be valid (i.e. they are not measuring what you are interested in). For example, I once spent around 500 hours running a sleep study in my last job that just didn’t really work out, and the data has yet to see the light of day. With all this said, though, it is worth it (for me) and it is a huge privilege to have a job where I get to see new things, problem solve and contribute to knowledge. If you put in the hard work, and are mindful of all this, then there is no reason why you can’t become a scientist. If you think you might be interested in getting into science professionally one day I found this cool little guide (https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Scientist). I guess I should lastly add that even if you don’t end up being a scientist you can always engage in science as a fan! Again, anyone can do this, and I would always encourage it.

    • Photo: Pizza Ka Yee Chow

      Pizza Ka Yee Chow answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Hi Lara,
      Nothing is impossible! Nadine and Alex have shared detailed thoughts about how anyone could become a scientist. Here I add some of the key traits that I believe could help anyone to become a scientist. *Hard working* is always one key trait to reach success. Another trait that I think is equally important is one need to accept their own limits. For example, each scientist is good at some areas but less in another areas. We cannot always do everything by ourselves. Therefore, we have to know our bottom line and when to seek help (e.g. work with other scientists as a team for new discovery). Along this line, because failure will come to us (from experiment designs to during data collection, from rejections from journals to obtaining funding etc). Here, being resilience becomes important – we can feel disappointed BUT we have to move on as soon as possible (i.e. never give up good ideas)! The final trait that I would like to add is self-motivation (dedication) in running and managing a project and students; this definitely will facilitate a project progresses.

    • Photo: Paul Matusz

      Paul Matusz answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Hi Lara,

      That is such a fantastic question, and I think everyone speaking before me have provided v good pointers. To me the answer is also – YES, anyone can be a scientist.

      However, you will need a lot of motivation – to put in long hours, and not be put of by smaller and larger rejections (that occur often). Have a look for example on my answer to another question, on how transformative for me was the experience of applying for a PhD in the UK – /memoryn18-zone/question/have-any-of-you-had-a-real-life-experience-that-has-completely-twisted-the-way-you-look-at-the-world/#comment-571 .

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