• Question: should I be a scientist I am not very smart though

    Asked by MRmanGuy to Rupesh, Ellen, Elliot, Hazel, Thomas on 12 Jun 2016. This question was also asked by ellietremlett1, Hollie-Rose Pitman.
    • Photo: Rupesh Paudyal

      Rupesh Paudyal answered on 12 Jun 2016:

      You should be a scientist only if you want to be. You can still enjoy science by watching good documentaries and taking part in activities without studying or pursuing a career in it.

      It is also not true that you are not very smart, the fact that you are thinking about it already at your age shows that you are very smart! Plus I don’t think that intelligence is determined by what grades you get.

      I never had the best grades in schools, actually I failed my A-level exams for a year and was very close to quitting – now I have a PhD in a subject that I “failed”!

      You just need to find something you like. You will find it for sure one day. The most important thing is that you should try your best, try to study hard, and you will get there.

      Good luck!

    • Photo: Elliot Jokl

      Elliot Jokl answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      I think Rupesh has this one right!

      I’m lucky in that I have been able to get good grades, but science is also a lot about hard work and patience. So if you find science interesting and you are willing to work hard I think those are probably more important than being an egghead.

      So for example, I can spend a lot of time thinking about the theory behind my PhD and come up with lots of different ideas about why things might be happening. But if I have no evidence to back up those ideas, they are not very useful because I have no idea if they are true or not! Having the drive to work hard to find the evidence is probably the most important characteristic for a successful scientist.

    • Photo: Thomas Biggans

      Thomas Biggans answered on 16 Jun 2016:

      Anyone can be a scientist if they’re interested in what they do and are willing to work hard at it.

      Everyone is capable of learning the knowledge and the skills they need to be a scientist you just have to stick at it. We all started knowing nothing and it takes time to learn and we all learn in different ways. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t understand because that’s how you know what you need to work on or what your teacher might need to explain in a different way.

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