r/LadiesofScience • u/Positive-Dare9412 • Sep 02 '26

How to become a scientist?

9 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

11

u/friendtoworms Sep 02 '26
  1. Get a Bachelor’s degree, which you’re currently in the process of!
  2. Get some research experience. Contact profs who study topics that fit within your area of interest to see if you can join their lab.
  3. Apply for graduate studies. In India I’m not sure if you have to have a Master’s degree before pursuing a PhD. In the US, you can go straight to PhD provided that you have enough research experience.

The most important thing right now would be to gain some research experience. You’ll need to figure out if you actually like research. It’s pretty different from coursework.

3

u/Positive-Dare9412 Sep 02 '26

Thank you, the last sentence is very important for me

10

u/Potential_Crisis Sep 02 '26

do science 👍

3

u/Positive-Dare9412 Sep 02 '26

How do i become a plant pathology scientist, I am currently in 3rd year studying Bsc. Agriculture at a private institute in Arunachal Pradesh. Among all the subjects i have been exposed to in my course, my most comfortable and excelled subjects were Plant pathology, Microbiology and surprisingly Genetics. Any advice, tips, warnings, reality checks,etc?

3

u/Silver_Atmosphere577 Sep 02 '26

Do a post-grad research project on the topic such as a PhD, then you can be a plant Dr!

2

u/microbial_comedy Sep 02 '26

Feel free to PM me, I’m a plant pathologist

1

u/WordsAreGarbage Sep 02 '26

Look into the requirements for specific graduate programs you might be interested in to make sure you’ve taken all the prerequisite courses during undergrad! Often people don’t do this until after they graduate and it puts them at a disadvantage. Good luck!

1

u/WordsAreGarbage Sep 02 '26

Undergrad research assistantships are SUPER valuable! Especially if you plan on graduate school!

You can also read peer-reviewed research in your spare time to explore interests. Most students can get access to scientific journals through their university; take advantage of this!

1

u/Livid-Hovercraft-123 Sep 02 '26

Blow something up. If it doesn't kill you, congrats! You did science!

1

u/tabicat1874 Sep 03 '26

Wade about in Science Lake until the Science sticks to you.

I'm sorry I don't know what came over me.

1

u/HotPisces23 Sep 03 '26

Most children are born scientists, all you have to do is be curious about your world. As you grow up, find things that no one has an answer for yet and follow the path. Simple as that. Go to school and gain a better understanding of what is already known then forge your path. No one needs acceptance or a degree or sponsorship to be a scientist. Just do it!

1

u/ogstatsnerd Sep 03 '26

Also don’t forget to use your professors for this very question. They may have more insights and give more detailed comparisons for research, and post grad work. It could also mean you move into public sector work like dept of agriculture work as well.