• Question: how long have you been interested in your topic and have you always wanted to do the job you are in?

    Asked by u11spencerb to Debbie, Glyn, Jon, Kat, Nicola on 11 Mar 2013. This question was also asked by jimmeh, u11swaino, madsniper, callummurray, veryvexatious, idontwanttobehere, u11allanl, catheriney, brionybrown, riosmith, taliafriend, millyoverton16, ibraheem123, sasha2003, rc0000715.
    • Photo: Nicola Fletcher

      Nicola Fletcher answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      I’ve been interested in viruses for about 12 years now, since I got out of college. I used to be interested in horses but when I finished college I got a job working with horse viruses! I found it so interesting that I decided to go back to college and study viruses. Now I love all kinds of viruses, no matter what kind of creatures they infect!

    • Photo: Debbie Crockard

      Debbie Crockard answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      I have been interested in Marine Biology since I was 6 – I went to see Free Willy with my dad in teh cinema and came out completely in love with Orcas (killer whales). It wasn’t until I got to university that I discovered that fisheries was what I was most interested in, and what I was good at. I love spending time talking to fishermen and learning about what they know, but I also love the science behind it so my job is perfect – but there is still lots more I want to do!

    • Photo: Jonathan Stone

      Jonathan Stone answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      I have wanted to study volcanoes since I saw Mt St Helens when I was 5 years old…! So I like to think I have been studying them for over 20 years now!! I did for a while want to 1) drive a train (aged 3) 2) drive a boat (aged 4) and fly a fighter jet (after watching top gun).

    • Photo: Glyn Barrett

      Glyn Barrett answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      Since I was small I’ve loved looking at and learning about nature. I love walking the forests, hiking in the mountains or swimming in the sea listening to birds, catches glimpses of mountain goats or snow leopards or looking at sea slugs! So yes I’ve always been interested in biology.
      The thing with science is that sometimes you can’t always do a PhD in the exact field you want but it is always possible to go down a different route later on. There are lots of transferable skills which you can learn in one place and bring to another place so thats great.

    • Photo: Kathryn McMahon

      Kathryn McMahon answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      I have wanted to be scientist (and do a PhD) since I was about 16. I’ve always been interested in biology and how animals and plants work, but that was when I decided I wanted to be a scientist rather than a doctor, nurse, or vet.
      I have always loved plants, so when I went to university I wanted to study plant science, but I changed my mind when I started my PhD. I decided I was more interested in human development and disease and since then, I have worked on blood and blood vessel development in both normal human growth and in cancer. That was about 10 years ago, and I still find it fascinating.

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