• Question: Why did you become a scientist when you wanted to become a doctor or a space cowboy?

    Asked by galaxyh14 to Alex, Jools, Matt, Rika on 15 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by preetpaul26, cheekylittlemonkey.
    • Photo: Alex Davenport

      Alex Davenport answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      The space cowboy was a bit of a joke, but I did want to become a Medical Doctor at one point.
      I became a scientist for many reasons but the main reasons were that I didn’t get into medical school the first time round, and then when I had the chance to reapply, I found that I loved research too much and it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. Its very difficult to make a decision about your future at 18 and I feel if I had gone to medical school, it would have been the wrong one! I love being a scientist now.
      I also feel that as a teenager I wasn’t aware that science was a job in itself, I just thought it was something some medical doctors did on the side. I had no idea there was a whole area open to me!

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