Interested In A Career In Science? Check Out What Scientists Do?

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you are probably enjoying the benefits from a scientist’s work. Sound engineers make your movies and music better. Doctors study diseases and discover new cures and treatments. Chemists bring you health and beauty aids – from medicines to soap and perfume – to keep you feeling and looking your best. Agricultural scientists help bring fresh, nutritious produce to your supermarkets. Automotive engineers get you from A to B quickly and safely. Entomologists study how bugs and critters operate. Many more examples of science abound.

In general, scientists are people who try to figure out how the many different things in our world and our universe work, from the biggest galaxies to the tiniest atoms. Scientists use special methods to examine what they are studying by proposing an explanation to a question or problem, collecting evidence and running tests, and then forming a conclusion based on the results. Science is a huge and amazing field, and there are many types of scientists in the world. Think about all of the different sciences you have studied or learned about in school.

A scientist might work in a laboratory, out in nature, at a special office, as a professor, writer, or journalist – the list goes on. To answer puzzling questions, scientists might do everything from performing tests and collecting surveys to brainstorming and daydreaming! Scientists use all kinds of different tools for their jobs: computers, telescopes, microscopes, rulers, thermometers, barometers, scales, beakers and test tubes, and much more (and, don’t forget, brains).

Here is what a scientist would normally do, at a glance:

Different scientists for each purpose

Scientists try to understand the natural world: plants and animals, stars and planets, atoms and the substances built from them, and even space and time itself! Depending on what they mostly study, scientists are assigned different names, such as biologist, chemist, astronomer, or theoretical physicist. People are also part of the natural world; their bodies and minds are thoroughly studied by scientists known as medical doctors, neurologists, and psychologists. All branches of science overlap and form a coherent web of descriptions and explanations that is continuously updated, refined, and improved.

Scientists are creative bunch. What do they usually do?

Scientists, and engineers (who can be thought of as “applied scientists”) are creative in one of several ways, and for one of several different purposes, which include:

• Creating something new – a new approach, or a new product,    for example
• Solving a problem with something that exists
• Understanding something better – creating a new model of how or why something happens

What is a scientist’s way of working?

Most scientists would do these when they are working on something:

Brainstorming

By himself or herself, a scientist might make one or several diagrams of a problem to see it from several perspectives. Then, he or she might spend some quiet time brainstorming: thinking of and writing down all the possible solutions that come to mind … even the ridiculous ones. Alternatively, the scientist or engineer might get a team of people to brainstorm together, with a ground rule that no one criticises any idea that comes out.

Dreaming

The structure of benzene in chemistry was first understood by means of a dream. A scientist who had been focused on trying to determine the structure of benzene could not visualise how the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms could fit together. Then, he dreamt of a snake biting its own tail – and realised that benzene was a ring –  rather than a chain – of carbon atoms]

Serendipity

Did you know that the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming was accidental? In 1928, he found that some mould had contaminated one of his culture plates on which he had been growing bacteria – and the bacteria had started dying. If Fleming had been less curious and less persistent, or had stayed too focused on the original purpose of his research, he may have missed the incredibly important discovery of WHY the bacteria was dying, and would have not discovered the penicillin that came from the mould.

Focused effort

While being too focused on the original research project could have worked against Fleming in the example above, some key creative results have been the result of focused efforts, often over a long period of time, often involving a lot of people. Thomas Edison, one of the most productive inventive minds in history, said “Invention is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Many of his projects involved many scientists and engineers, working together for years, persistent despite obstacles or frustrating results.

Applying approaches from one field to another field

Some of the major theories in population biology came from a physicist who became intrigued by the subject, and applied variations of some of his approaches in physics to create models of how predators and prey interact. Adaptability is key.