You’ll need to be well-specialized in mathematics. Scientists in the physical sciences use a great deal of mathematics, particularly algebra, calculus, and analytical geometry, while those in the biological sciences use math less often. All scientists need a working knowledge of statistics, too. [1] X Research source Consider going to science camp during high school. You’ll do more intensive projects than you do in your regular science classes in school.
Skills in 1 or 2 foreign languages may be helpful as well. This allows you to read older scientific papers that haven’t been translated into English. Additionally, being multilingual will enable you to collaborate with other scientists from across the world, as well as help you pursue research opportunities in other countries. The most helpful languages to learn include French, German and Russian.
If you’d like or if your college’s lack of options necessitates it, you can wait to declare something more specific later (aka grad school). A general major like chemistry is fine, too.
This will get you applied lab experience, which is going to be helpful for going to grad school and looking for jobs once you graduate. It shows you’ve been taking college seriously and have a grip on what’s expected of you. If you want to be a field researcher, pursue an internship with an environmental organization, such as the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Read scientific journals and keep up with the field. You’ll be in those journals yourself, in time. Look to their work for structure and the basics of a good scientific paper.
At this time, you’ll have to declare a specialty – something that greatly narrows down the field and allows you to have a concentration. This will make your work more unique and your field of competition smaller.
Your professors and your school, in general, will be very helpful tools in finding which internships exist and where. Tap into all the connections you’ve made to find something that fits you like a glove.
In addition to this, you’ll be doing 3 or so years of post-doctorate research after this. It’s common for scientists to go through 4 years of undergrad, around 5 years of higher education, and 3 years of research, which means it’ll be a solid 12 years of training. After you complete your undergraduate education, you’ll likely be given a stipend or paycheck as you work through the remainder of your training.
In smaller fields (and some larger ones), you’ll get to know all the names in these journals. Reading them will let you know who you should ask for research help or favors when the time comes.
A science teacher. This one is pretty self-explanatory and doesn’t always require upper education (depending on the level you want to teach). In some areas and fields, you’ll need education credits, too. A clinical research scientist. Many scientists work with a major company or the government. To start out, you’d be a clinical research associate. You would work on clinical trials, of say, emerging medications. You would gather data and monitor procedures making sure everything is up to protocol. Then, you get to perform analyses on whatever project you’re currently working on, developing products (like vaccines), or sometimes even working with patients, physicians, or technicians about laboratory procedures. A professor. Many scientists, at least eventually, have the goal of becoming a professor and getting tenure. It’s a well-paying gig with job security and you get to affect the lives of many. However, do know that it can take decades to get here.
Coupled with curiosity is an ability to reject preconceived notions and be open to new ideas. Frequently, an early hypothesis is not borne out by the evidence of later observations and experiments and must be modified or discarded.
Some jobs only require a bachelor’s, while others may require a master’s or even a doctorate. If you’re not in a place where you can spend a decade making a lower income, this could be a viable alternative.
You’ll also be meeting deadlines, often not determining your own hours, and working whenever your work says you need to. All of this combined makes it a difficult job, especially to stick with.
Observation skills are also necessary. In those years of waiting for results, you need to constantly be looking for the smallest changes in what you expect to see. Your eye needs to be focused and ready at all times. And as for thinking outside of the box, think back to Newton’s apple falling on his head or Archimedes jumping into his tub and displacing water. Most people would think nothing of these events, but these men saw something else, something no one else was seeing at the time. To make strides in human knowledge, you have to think differently.
