• Question: What got you interested in Science? :)

    Asked by joemulqueen to Cathal, Ciara, Emma, Michael, Sive on 12 Nov 2013. This question was also asked by roygrealish, darakenna, lauramcgovern19.
    • Photo: Emma Cahill

      Emma Cahill answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      Hi Joe, I was a curious kid and always liked hearing stories about how things happened or how things are made. After school I picked a science degree because there seemed to be lots of choice and different subjects, I never really thought of doing it as a job until we got to work on projects in a lab for the final year of the degree, and I found that actually doing science was even better than hearing about it from others!

    • Photo: Michael Nolan

      Michael Nolan answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      Hey Joe,

      I think this came up a few times in Monday’s chats but it is hard to answer in the quick fire nature of the chats.

      I went for years wanting to be a pro fotballer, I was obsessed with it. Then I realised it wasnt going to happen. Back in the 1980s there was no science outreach like there is now, so it was only when i started the Inter Cert that I first got drawn to science – quickly saw that I liked the material and I could handle it easily. Luck plays a role sometimes and the nice librarian at my nearest library pointed out some interesting books and that was it.
      By the time I started the leaving cert I wanted to learn all I could about physics and chemistry (biology left me cold I am afraid) as it was amazing to think we could make fantastic molecules and probe the smallest and biggest things in the Universe despite our tiny size. It got and still is addictive, the thirst to learn and understand more.

      After that I was fortunate to have some good people mentor me until I get to the point where I can be my own scientist and pursue my own goals.

    • Photo: Sive Finlay

      Sive Finlay answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      Hi Joe,
      I’ve always been interested in figuring out how things work and trying to understand the world. I enjoyed science at school but sometimes I found it frustrating because you seem to spend a lot of time learning off facts rather than trying to figure out problems for yourself. I entered the Young Scientist competition when I was in 2nd year and really enjoyed it as my first taste of doing my own research. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do when I left school so I chose science as a broad degree which would keep lots of options open. Like Emma I really enjoyed doing my own research project in the final year of my degree and I also spent some time working in labs over the summers so that led me to doing a PhD. I’m still not sure about what I exactly want to do after my PhD but things have worked out so far and the great thing about science is that there are always plenty of opportunities!
      Sive

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