So you want to be a scientist?

What does it mean to be a scientist? To the general public, the image of the scientist is based on media sources that focus on scientists who make groundbreaking discoveries, like Watson and Crick’s structure of the DNA double helix, since this news can capture people’s attention. This leads to the misconception that scientists are naturally smart individuals whose successes rely upon these genius moments.  Besides, there are several fictitious depictions of the scientist as overly ambitious and rather eccentric. This is the image of the typical mad scientist, such as Mary Shelley's infamous character, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monster and is obsessed with destroying his creation. These caricatures show that scientists are placed on a pedestal and are not widely regarded as average human beings.

I used to fall under these false assumptions. I felt that I was not capable of pursuing a scientific path because I viewed myself as another average human being, since I was certainly not a genius or had any spectacular talents. And that was a completely wrong mentality. 

The obvious needs to be stated: Most scientists we meet will not be Nobel-prize winners, as only a few individuals out of millions actually win the prize. So what happens to the majority of other scientists? I think it is unfortunate that our society is overly driven to hear about directly useful breakthroughs in science, which causes us to lose an appreciation of lesser-heard of, yet equally important discoveries. It is important to be reminded that these big breakthroughs are the accumulation of the efforts of a myriad of scientists who have contributed any sort of experimental findings. Science is about the building of knowledge, so we must not forget about previous knowledge that allows us to form current theories. 

Of course everyone aspires to make that life-changing discovery, and we should always keep that dream because it gives us the motivation to strive towards a better self to improve upon our own discoveries. However, we must not feel defeated if we don't see ourselves reaching that "Nobel-prize worthy" stage. If we are maximizing our potential abilities, then we are producing our best results. All results are meaningful in science, whether it's positive or negative data. We just don't have the foresight to comprehend the direct impact of our efforts. 

As I began to immerse myself into the scientific environment, I slowly realized that there is not a select group of individuals that is born to be great scientists. Rather anybody can be a good scientist if he or she has the curiosity and perseverance to gain knowledge. It is about the why and our persistence to explain the why. So, as novice scientists entering the field, we must not be discouraged by the fear of being insignificant because our dedication to science will always be a great contribution.

Keep calm and PhD on :)

Some motivation: We are capable of becoming successful scientists!