• Question: I want to be a biologist or marine biologist when i leave school but, unlike you, i am not that good at sceience do you have any advice of how i can meet my goal?

    Asked by tori to Alastair, Emma, Hywel, Keith, Vicki on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Alastair Sloan

      Alastair Sloan answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Hi Tori

      Don’t underestimate how good you are. If you study hard and more importantly enjoy your subjects you can meet your goal. To be a marine biologist or biologist then you are going to need some good GCSEs at A or A*, with the science being up there at A and AMATOMO_URL Then you’ll need A Level biology along with a couple of others and get an A or B and then find yourself a course in a University in a place where you feel you would enjoy living .

      Best way to success, work hard, enjoy the subjects, aim for the best mark possible and have faith in yourself. Good luck

    • Photo: Keith Brain

      Keith Brain answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Not all scientists are the same, and different people bring different skills. For example, some of my colleagues at work aren’t very good at maths or physics or chemistry, but they they really love biology or zoology and know much more than me about these subjects. If you really like it, go for it. Read about biology and marine biology. Also, I think that lots of biology and zoology courses aren’t very quantitative, and so the hard core maths/ physics/ chemistry aren’t so important. Watch out for biochemistry degrees though – they can be very tough.

    • Photo: Vicki Stevenson

      Vicki Stevenson answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Hi Tori
      I’m afraid I haven’t done much biology, so I can’t think of anything particularly for marine biology. If you think you can get biology GCSE you might be able to start as a technician – it would be worth asking your careers advisor

    • Photo: Hywel Vaughan

      Hywel Vaughan answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Hi Tori,
      That really depends on how determined you are to reach it. From my experience, if you are really enthusiastic about something and have a goal that you really want to achieve, I would say you just have to persevere. If extra tutoring would help, or reading around the subject, then no doubt that will be really useful.
      The other good thing about science is that there are many ways you can go into it – as long as you are enthusiastic and put the effort in, it will show. There are always foundation courses you can do if your grades aren’t the best.
      Don’t give up tori, that is the best piece of advice I can give. 🙂

    • Photo: Emma Carter

      Emma Carter answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Really knowing what you want to do is half the battle – so you’re halfway there! The only advice I could offer you is to work hard and do your best. If you want to study Biology at degree level I think you will probably need to do Biology A-level plus 2 others (Chemistry, Geography or Physics perhaps) but you should check the requirements with the universities you are interested in. There may possibly be a more vocational (less academic) route into that field but as it’s not my area I can’t advise you on that. I am a qualified scuba diver though which would be a really useful skill for a marine biologist. It’s quite amazing down there – especially when you come face to face with a sting ray or shark! You could find your local dive centre and complete a PADI certificate with them – but I’d recommend waiting til you go on holiday and do it somewhere warmer than here 🙂

Comments