Question: Do you have to pass all your exams to become a scientist?

Lilian Hunt answered on 10 Mar 2014:

Passing exams certainly helps and I would say is important! But depending on what level of scientist you want to be you can take different routes through school and university. I would always recommend trying hard at school and passing your science exams as even if you don’t want to be a scientist in the end, people look at good grades in science and are usually impressed by them!

Most top researchers will have got good grades throughout their school life and then gone to university to get a good degree. The university degree will usually take 3 years and after that you can go on to do a PhD which normally takes up to 4 years but you get to call yourself ‘Dr’ at the end of it! That path is quite hard and fairly long but that’s what I’m doing now and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to be a research scientist as it is really good fun and enjoyable!

There are other jobs where you are a scientist where you don’t have to do all of that though, for example if you want to be a scientist in a lab in a hospital you can be an assistant with just good GCSEs and you can go into a higher position with A levels and even higher with a degree. So there’s plenty of options and once you’re into a career as a scientist, on the job training and experience count for a lot! If you’re struggling with science, also look at getting work experience with a scientist somewhere as that can really help!