Focus on sciences
A science degree doesn’t mean spending your career, or even your course, stuck in a lab, as one student found out
Dismiss all prejudices! Science, although not popular with the majority of students, is one of the most rewarding degrees you can do – academically and financially. And with a science degree, you have the chance of getting ahead of the pack when it comes to careers you might think were exclusively for arts graduates. Inspired, analytical minds are much in demand in media and business. Believe it or not, you will enjoy a science degree that’s right for you. And yes, scientists do have lives!
Tom Miller did a biology BSc at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, graduating this year. He did A-levels in biology (A), chemistry (B) and maths (A).
“A science degree makes you learn to get right to the bottom of things and to seek out meaning. You learn how to read, research and sharpen up your communication skills in order to present your findings.”
“The first year was a grounding in general biology and everything was compulsory. It aimed to cover life from the smallest unit at which you can consider it, to the largest. In the second year there was more choice – you could specialise in biological fields of interest. There were also computing courses to help us to analyse data and so forth.”
“In my third year I chose the ‘Year In Europe’ option. It gave me a chance to combine my two interests, French and science, which I really appreciated. I went to the ‘Ecole Normale Superior in Lyon’, a very strong research-based grand-ecole. I took the first year classes with the French students, all in French!”
“In my final year we specialised even further. I chose to do animal behaviour, evolutionary biology, population dynamics and insect ecology.”
“Following my finals I did a 10-week work placement at the National History Museum in the Herbarium, and now I’m working at the Imperial press office. It gives me a chance to take a broad look at science news. This is the cutting edge of science from a communication perspective.”