What can you tell us a about why you chose to take part in I’m a scientist

Question: What can you tell us a about why you chose to take part in I’m a scientist
- Keywords:
  I'm a Scientist
Asked by anon-371333 on 14 Nov 2023.
- Michael Schubert answered on 14 Nov 2023:
  
  I love being part of I’m a Scientist because it’s so much fun to hear about what everyone is interested in, what you do and don’t know about science right now, and what kinds of questions you ask! There are always questions that challenge me and that helps me learn more about science – and more about being a good science communicator.
  
  I also love learning things from students and fellow scientists in the program. It’s great when you’re surrounded by people who know things you don’t, because you never know what you’ll find out next!
  
  One more thing: I love showing people that there are all kinds of science jobs, not just lab and field science. Not everyone realises that science can lead to amazing careers in writing, music, art, video games, and all kinds of other things!
- Lucy Carver answered on 15 Nov 2023:
  
  When I was at school, no one really talked about being a scientist – if you liked science/biology you were pushed into medicine. I realised that I loved the science part but I didn’t want to deal with patients! I joined I’m a Scientist to help show young people that there are many different career options and you don’t have to be a certain way to have a career in science! I’ve loved it too, so now I’m thinking about Science Outreach jobs!
- Martin Johnsson answered on 15 Nov 2023:
  
  1. I’ve done it once before and I enjoyed it last time. 🙂
  
  2. It is a rare pleasure to talk about genetics with people who aren’t themselves geneticists.
  
  3. The questions asked in these kinds of settings are often broad, surprising, and thoughtful. It’s a learning experience to read what questions you ask, and what answers my colleagues in the zone give. (The same goes for teaching and participating in other outreach activities like Skype a Scientist.)
- Sophie Shaw answered on 15 Nov 2023:
  
  I really love telling people (especially students) about what I do. I think science and genetics is really cool and I want to show other people this. I also take part in a scheme called “STEM Ambassadors” where I go into schools or other places and do sessions to teach people about science – I love it!
- Hayley Free answered on 15 Nov 2023:
  
  My main reason for wanting to take part is to make students aware of the various career paths in science. I was not made aware of them until a lot later in my academic career and it would have been very helpful for me. It was also a challenge for me to talk about my research/science in general to non-experts.
- Martin Minarik answered on 15 Nov 2023:
  
  I remember it was difficult for me to imagine what it means to be a scientist in the practical sense, like how to become one, what courses to take, what job options do you have, how happy people tend to be in those jobs 🙂 It really helped me when I met a few scientists before I went to uni and it influenced some of my choices. So I thought I might also become useful this way by being open to this kind of questions from you guys 🙂
- David Clancy answered on 24 Nov 2023: last edited 24 Nov 2023 9:31 am
  
  I’m old now. Earlier, I didn’t understand myself, or life in general, sufficiently to know what I liked and why I liked it.
  People look at work and careers in a range of ways. But often what they don’t look at is what the work life is like, day to day, and it is that, mostly, which determines whether you enjoy your work or not.
  So what I hope I can bring to the forum is the idea that what we call ‘science’ is hugely diverse, and the range of careers in science is hugely diverse, and there are all sorts of ways a working life in and around science can be rewarding.
  Therefore, looking back on my own experiences, I hope I can convince people that, just the fact that they are attending imascientist, means that they could probably find something in science that provides them with a fulfilling working life, and I can give some insights into what some of those working lives could be like.
- Debbie Guest answered on 27 Nov 2023:
  
  I really enjoyed science at school but I think it is really hard to envisage what a job in science is like. There are so many different areas of science and different roles you could do and I wanted to help to give some students an idea of what my job was like and what options they had available to them
- Samantha Slater-Lewin answered on 27 Nov 2023:
  
  This is my first time taking part and I thought it would be a good way to talk about how I use science in my line of work and share information about the job that I love. When I was growing up, there wasn’t anything like this and I think it’s brilliant that students can be shown the wide variety of job options out there that utilises STEM subjects.