• Question: What qualifications / college courses did you have to take in order to be a scientist?

    Asked by anon-257405 on 17 Jun 2020.
    • Photo: Sarah Appleby

      Sarah Appleby answered on 17 Jun 2020:

      I did an undergraduate degree in astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh and now I’m working on a PhD in astronomy. To get into university I needed something like 4 Highers at an A grade, but I’m not sure if the qualification system has changed since then. If you’re interested in studying a science or doing an apprenticeship, usually the college/university will say what grades they’re looking for on the website, so that can give you an idea of what courses you should take and what kind of grades to work towards 🙂

    • Photo: Harry Keen

      Harry Keen answered on 17 Jun 2020:

      For going down the physics route, what GCSEs you pick don’t really matter. Just pick some things you enjoy, and you’ll do well. That makes it easier to get into a good college or sixth form. When it comes to A levels, Maths is most important, Physics is second most important. Beyond that, common ones people choose are Chemistry or Further maths. They tend to be useful. Then you use those to get in to university, each of which has slightly different entry grades and requirements. So, like Sarah said, you can look around at universities and try to figure out what is realistic for you to aim for. After studying a science at university, there are loads of different, natural routes to being a career scientist 8′).
      But, as always, the most important thing is to do something you enjoy. It’s good to plan ahead, but make sure you’re going to enjoy the journey 🙂

    • Photo: Susan Cartwright

      Susan Cartwright answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      I did Scottish Highers in English, Maths, Physics and Chemistry (and also Biology, French, and Geography, but those probably didn’t affect my university application), then a degree in Physics and Astronomy at Glasgow, and then a PhD in particle physics (also at Glasgow). However, I would note that there are other routes int science and engineering besides university, e.g. modern apprenticeships.

    • Photo: Yueng Lenn

      Yueng Lenn answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      I’m a physical oceanographer now, but actually have a first degree in physics. So at A level, I took a fairly typical combination of maths, further maths, Physics and chemistry. But I agree with everyone else here saying that the Maths is the most important, and preferably Physics and/or Further maths for Physics degrees. For a more applied science degree like Physical Oceanographer, we require a selection of science subjects, but these must include either A level Maths or Physics.

    • Photo: Paula Koelemeijer

      Paula Koelemeijer answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      For a lot of science degrees, including Earth Sciences, you primarily need Maths and Physics, perhaps another science subject. Each university will have different requirements, so it is best to have a look at the websites.

      I needed to have taken physics, chemistry and maths to start my degree, but that was not in the UK so in a whole different system!

    • Photo: Krishna Mooroogen

      Krishna Mooroogen answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      For me, Maths and Physics were important. Though I never liked maths very much when i was younger 🙂

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