• Question: would you like to teach science in a school,college or univesaty?

    Asked by x Miss Sugg x to Christie, Dan, David, Dawn, Sian on 16 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Christie Waddington

      Christie Waddington answered on 16 Jun 2016:

      I have thought about teaching as a career, maybe at University level or A level. I have given talks in schools on Mitochondria and Mitochondrial Disease and most of the students are interested, but there are some who are only there because they have to be which is a bit off-putting.

      Most researchers in Universities have to teach as well as part of their job. Even as a PhD student, I have led seminars and assisted in teaching undergraduate practical classes. The professors give lectures too on their specialised subjects.

    • Photo: Dawn Lau

      Dawn Lau answered on 16 Jun 2016:

      I’ve considered teaching, but it would probably be a back-up plan for me in the future. I’m very happy to teach students when they come into the lab for research projects, but teaching a class or delivering a lecture is a completely different thing. At King’s College London, there is no obligation for PhD students or postdoctoral research staff on 3 year contracts to teach (unless you are paid by the university to teach). I’d like to get some experience in delivering lectures to Master’s students before I make up my mind about teaching, though.

    • Photo: David Robertson

      David Robertson answered on 18 Jun 2016:

      I do some teaching to undergraduate students which I really enjoy. I think teaching in school would be much harder as not all of the students really want to be there.

    • Photo: Sian Thomas

      Sian Thomas answered on 18 Jun 2016:

      I enjoy engaging with students – but am not sure that I would like this to me my main job. I tried research and teaching in a University – it was good but I like my current job more. I am not sure I have the patience for teaching – certainly my children would say that I don’t!

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