Science As a Career Path

Jan 03, 06:46 PM

"Who will be staying to the 6th form?" asked the science teacher.

My hand went up - a pause."But you won't be doing science will you, Brown?"

" Yes, sir." I answered meekly.

There was an even longer pause. The silence was deafening. This interchange was followed by some comments about my suitability for the humanities. Such was the inauspicious start to my career in science in the 1950s. Not encouraging, but in those days Science was King and I really wanted to be part of the King's Court.

As families relax over this Christmas period many of the parents and their offspring may still be wondering what sort of tertiary training or education they may avail themselves of.

Currently we have too many graduates, many reluctant, and too few artisans so that apprentice- ships and trade training are definitely in demand.

You may like the idea of university, but if you don't have real passion for something don't do it. It is no good saying, they need lawyers and accountants, because only the keen passionate ones will get the jobs.

Doing these subjects just to "get a job" will not bring you success or satisfaction. Not many will be considering science. Why should they when current governments and society in general do not value science and the salaries reflect this? Also, the training can be long and hard so why not pick a soft option?

What do want from life? Obviously a living wage and science will give you that and more, but riches are unlikely. But you will get to travel and meet some of the world's great minds. You will have the chance to do subjects which enable you to tackle and understand problems in many disciplines other than science.

Scientists are often well versed in the arts. The opposite is rarely true! The analytical and quantitative nature of all science (yes, you'll need some maths), especially now that biological science is now very molecular and nano-technology biased, gives you very powerful analytical tools. This is important because many employers have found that the skills of scientist can be used in areas other than pure science. In recent times science graduates have been found to be very flexible and adaptable.

As was the requirement of the day I went on to do a Ph.D. Would I do it again? 43 years ago is a long time and things have very definitely changed. If you are keen on research science, then you have no option but to do a Ph.D. and maybe even post-doc. But there are many bright young men and women doing two first degrees and finding that they are very employable. Science and law, science and management, science and arts, science and economics are all very attractive. Or you may just take one of the applied sciences, agriculture, horticulture, medical laboratory science. food technology all of which are in big demand.

On reflection, if I was going through again today I would do science and law. I'd really enjoy the science and the challenge of law, but even more the lawyers' charges! In good or bad times people always want a lawyer and they want him/her now.

Philosophically a science training opens up a whole world denied to most. This can be tricky because communication is some times very difficult. We hope we have overcome this in our columns?

We thank you for your oft voiced interest in Analyse This. It is most encouraging. Many street discussions between us and readers have resulted. David and I extend our best wishes for 2008.

(c) 2007 Evening Standard; Palmerston North, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. Science As a Career Path
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