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Asked by leahjones to Sarah on 20 Sep 2017.
Question: How old were you when you decided to be a researcher
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Sarah Finnegan answered on 20 Sep 2017:
I was 21, I had just finished my undergraduate degree and was doing a masters in neuroscience. It was the first time I met a neuroscience researcher and realised that people actually just get to investigate things that they think are interesting for a full time job! Every time I found something interesting out about the brain I thought WOW I can’t believe the brain is this clever, I never want to stop finding out more!
Comments
Imogen commented on :
I was nearly 30! I had been at university since I was 17 and left for a job when I was 27. I spent two and a half years writing government reports and often had to write what a group had decided was right rather than what I thought. That made me realise I wanted the freedom of writing my own thoughts and following my own interests, which is what being a researcher lets you do.
Sam commented on :
When I was about 21 or 22. I was doing my masters at Brookes, still partially thinking about wanting to go down the clinical psychology route. But, I found myself more interested in how the knowledge came about and wanted to research my own questions. Its a bit like being able to always go to your favourite subject, but with the excitement that a hobby that you’re really interested in gives you.
Nayeli commented on :
I was 29! when I finish my PhD I was looking for a job, I wanted to be a researcher, but I was not sure whether I would be able to find a job in academia because those jobs are very hard to get. So I was open to other options as well. However, at the end, I was lucky enough to get a post in a university and my career as a researcher started then.