Question: do u have to go to uni to become a scientist and if so how many years did it take?

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  1. I went to uni to learn how to become a better scientist. I think I was already a scientist before I started. Ialways enjoyed looking at something and trying to figure out what was happening. I always found things like space and nature interesting and they were subject where my imagination would go wild. I think if someone is like this, they have the mind of a scientist.

    High school and uni is just about making the mind become more efficient at it. As a PhD student, I’m technically still at uni. But many people I know only spend 3 or 4 years to study science.

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  2. There are different pathways so it depends what you want to do for a career, but typically scientists have a degree at least, which takes 3 years. People who want a bit more research experience will do another year called Honours, whereas I did a PhD which took another 3 years on top of that. If you want to work at a uni you probably need a PhD and many scientific organisations tend to prefer that the managers and those guiding the research have a PhD. That’s 7 years of hard slog before you even think about working in that area. There are many, many scientific careers that don’t need a PhD though.

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  3. It is possible to be a scientist without going to uni — all it takes is a good brain, a willingness to learn and work hard, and lots of critical thinking skills. But to train for a specific field, uni is probably the best way to go.
    I spent four year at uni, and then a little more than seven years in postgraduate school doing research to get my Ph.D. That was sort of like school, but also like a regular job in a lot of ways, so I would say I was a scientist that whole time, even though I was still in training. In fact, although I’ve been a scientist for many years now, I’m still learning more and more all the time.

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  4. Yes. In my case a three year degree, then a one year honours and several years doing a Masters Degree. But as David says, there are other ways. But as David says, you need to be interested in science before you start.

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  5. I did a Bachelor of Science (an undergraduate degree that takes 3 years) and then an Honours year (of research). Then I went and worked for around six years before returning as a part time PhD (by research). The PhD has been going for six years now and I hope to finish in the next year.

    You don’t have to go to uni, but I think it teaches you a lot about how to answer the questions you have and how to get your information correctly.

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