• Question: I would like to know what A-levels you need to do to become a scientist and what subjects?

    Asked by deed520jeer on 18 Dec 2024. This question was also asked by just520saps.
    • Photo: Rachel Edwards

      Rachel Edwards answered on 18 Dec 2024:

      It really depends on what you want to do. I’m a physicist, and my most important A-level was actually maths! All scientists use maths to explain what their experiments are doing, or to predict what they will do. Physics was almost as important, and I took graphic design for a bit of a break – but it has come in really useful when designing experiments. My brother is a biologist, and he studied biology and chemistry.
      Find out what bits of science you love though, and if you are thinking about doing a university degree have a look at university prospectuses – they will tell you what the most important A-levels are for things you might like to study,

    • Photo: Carly Bingham

      Carly Bingham answered on 18 Dec 2024:

      There’s lots of different kinds of scientists who come in from all different backgrounds who probably have lots of different qualifications so I can only really answer for me!
      I did maths, further maths, physics, chemistry and French for my A-Levels, but now I work in a very biology based job even though I don’t have a biology A-Level. I use a lots of maths in my job even though I’m a scientist so that’s been really helpful too!
      If you know what kind of science you’d like – maybe you could look up university courses for that subject and see what they ask for? It’s always a good idea to do A-Levels that you’re interested in – it’s a lot easier to be motivated and get the work done if you’re interested in the material

    • Photo: Caroline Roche

      Caroline Roche answered on 20 Dec 2024:

      It depends on what kind of scientist you want to be and how you would like to get there.
      Going straight to university or doing an apprenticeship are both options. You also have the unconventional route of training to be something else and then moving sideways into a scientist role (though that is alot harder to do).
      Usually I would recommend maths, science, computing or engineering subjects.
      If you go the university route, they may have their own subject specific requirements but you can always discuss with them about using another subject in lieu of the one they’ve asked for.
      A foreign language can also be beneficial if you want to study or work aboard, it can also help with your communication skills which will be necessary regardless of what type of scientist you become.

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