I used to hate science. I took the bare minimum to graduate, and I got out of Dodge. I found it to be boring and monotonous. Well, except for the day we made ice cream in chemistry. That was awesome. A science GE class in college changed my mind. It was so much more fun and dynamic than I remember science classes being. When I switched into the marine biology program, the adviser warned be about how much more time it would take me to graduate. I think she was trying to weed out the “I wanna surf all day and play with dolphins” crowd. The truth is, I could NOT have cared less. For the first time in my life I really felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. Today I have a B.S., an M.S., and currently teach biology to young women. Maybe you have heard of girls in our research program? I have been through trying times I assure you, but I have never regretted my decision. Here are some things I have learned throughout my scientific career that have nothing to do with “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell”.

There is no “right” way to do things.

Obviously you will follow good science protocols like having control variables, and not making up data. Oops. But beyond that, you can design your experiment about a billion different ways. When you first realize the magnitude of this potential, it is exhilarating! As long as you clearly justify your reasoning, go for it! See what happens! People today are so interested in telling you want to do, what to say, and how to feel. Science frees you of that. When I tell this to my students they are actually apprehensive about it. They love being given an exact procedure to follow, but it hinders learning! We need more inquiry-based labs in schools...but more on that in another article.

Patience, patience, and more patience.

At its fundamental level, science is problem solving. And I gotta tell you, shit goes wrong in science. A lot. A few years ago, I did a project with purple sea urchins. Mid-way through my experiment, the water flow to my tanks became blocked and over half of my urchins died. It took me 4 methods of keeping each individual urchin separate before I could even start collecting data, and overnight all of that effort was gone. I had to take a few days (which is precious time!) to determine if I could continue with the survivors, if I needed to start over, and if it could impact my grade in the course. I won’t even get into how many hurdles I had to jump through for my master’s thesis...

Science is creative.

Science is a highly-creative process. Imma say it again: CRE-A-TI-VE. You need to be able to come up with brand new questions never asked before, figure out how to answer them, and solve the inevitable 184,563,927 problems along the way. You learn how to balance project finances, budget your time, and most importantly, what do you when your data set is not normal! Science has taught me how to think outside (and inside) Schrodinger’s box.

Community is key.

A lot of science-phobia stems from being misguided. I’m looking at you, you anti-vaccination, super-food eating, detox-cleansing crowd. The amazing thing about all of these published articles is that they are peer-reviewed. This holds us to a very high degree of accountability. We make sure that our science is solid.You CAN NOT just write anything you want and get it published. Sure, there have been lame situations, but don’t judge the entire scientific community just on a few morons. Haven’t you ever been part of a group that is widely criticized? You want to stand up and shout, “we aren’t all like that!” Well, that’s how we feel when you call our lifesblood bogus. In addition to peer-review, being able to bounce ideas off of your lab mates is the best thing ever! They can offer a fresh perspective on your work that you may have been too close to see. Oh, and scientists party like it’s the end of the WORLD. (Shout out to my Catalina peeps!)

I am not here to say that all other careers are worthless and you can only learn things like patience as a scientist. Not at all. (Side note: everyone was so mad about the Wells Fargo ad, but no one recognized that they represented a girl in engineering. Heck yeah!!) But I am here to dispel the impression that science is just about recalling facts when asked. It is an active, demanding process with great sacrifice and even greater reward - understanding the world.