• Question: Did you know what you wanted to do when you were younger

    Asked by 424spaa52 to Jane, Heather, Helen, Hugh, Julian on 7 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by Liv, LOLCharlie, I'm Called Leanne, #Niamh #wow, Emily_Luisa_Taylor, amazing person called flo.
    • Photo: Julian Onions

      Julian Onions answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      No – not really, I’m still not sure I know now.
      Some people seem to know exactly what they want to be.
      I like solving problems, and doing things I find interesting. So I try and do things that interest me. If they interest me I work harder at them, and maybe learn more and so make contributions.

    • Photo: Jane MacArthur

      Jane MacArthur answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      No, not clearly, though I always enjoyed maths and science lessons more and I was fascinated by the stars. There is plenty of scope to change, refine and adapt your plans along the way, for example, I have ended up in a Geology and Physics focused PhD from a Maths BSc, with some years working elsewhere in between. Learning to question, struggle and be comfortable with some uncertainty is part of what science is about – if you get the right answer first time it probably isn’t a new or interesting discovery.

    • Photo: Heather Campbell

      Heather Campbell answered on 9 Nov 2014:

      Yes, I was always interested in astronomy. It fascinated me growing up and I really wanted to study it. When I was at school I had a great physics teacher who made lessons really fun and inspired me. But I never actually thought I’d be lucky enough to become a researcher in astronomy, and get to do my hobby for a living! And travel the world using some of the best telescopes as well.

    • Photo: Helen Johnson

      Helen Johnson answered on 9 Nov 2014:

      Not really! I always loved science, maths, and of course astronomy (there’s a picture of little me next to a solar telescope on my profile), but as I was growing up I had lots of different ideas about what I wanted to do. Sometimes it was being a language interpreter, sometimes writer, sometimes working in a Chemistry lab, and when I was very little I really just wanted to work with dolphins! 😛
      It’s not important you have it all planned out yet, you still have lots of time. Just make sure you’re always doing something you enjoy, and that you try hard and keep an open mind.

    • Photo: Hugh Osborn

      Hugh Osborn answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      I had no idea! But I was always interested in the natural world and space. I dont think I realised for a long time that you could actually spend all your time learning about those things and get paid for it. But being a scientist is exactly that!

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