Question: Im in year 10 and at the moment Im not really enjoying biology at school but I come from a family made up of biologists and doctors who think I should continue. I was just wondering what got you guys interested in biology and why you chose it as a career pathway ?
Keywords: biologist, biology, career, motivation
chris
Hi Chris,
This is a very serious question you are asking. Have you told your family that you don’t really enjoy it? I think its very important to be open and honest about things like this with your parents.
I have to be totally honest with you, in Year 10 i didn’t enjoy biology either. I struggled with the way our teacher taught us and I never really spoke up about it. I suffered in silence and I should not have. When it came to picking my subjects for years 11 and 12, I spoke to my head teacher Mr Milligan and I told him, I like science and I don’t like much else but I can’t sit through these bio classes with this teacher, I just don’t understand. Am I this dumb? Mr Milligan told me that for years 11 and 12 the syllabus was going to be different and we talked about it and in the end, I took a risk and picked Biology for my senior years. I don’t regret it at all!!!! I was placed into a class run by Mr Sherriff! He was the best biology teacher! He was so excited and enthusiastic and he taught us LIFE rather then Bio! He was passionate with getting gross organs for us to dissect lol as well as rats! and when it came to the actual theory he was really good at communicating that across. Today I still study science because Mr Sherriff and Mr Walters (my physics teacher) showed me that science is life! And for that I am grateful.
To sum up, Chris you need to talk to someone that knows you better then we do buddy. You need to think about the subjects you are good at and maybe play to your strengths. Talk to your teachers about the senior syllabus and hey, I know you will be ok 🙂
I know you will figure it out.
Sending you a big hug!
Mia
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Hi Chris, I did like biology at school which is why I continued with science. I chose it because I wanted to work in medical science and that was my motivation. I found it interesting to learn about the human body. Saying that, there were things in biology that I did not enjoy…but the balance was towards liking biology. I think you may need to discuss your options with your parents/career councillor like Mia suggests. These are important decisions and you need to be happy with them! Hope you work it all out!!
Anissa
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Hey chris, thanks for the question, I know that all of us will feel privileged that you have thought to ask us such a personal question.
I loved biology at school, it was one of my favourite subjects. Like Mia and Anissa said, you need to make sure that you talk to someone who knows you. It can be hard talking to your parents if they all do it already, and you feel like you have to do the same thing. I remember my parents made me do a lot of things at your age that I absolutely hated and was really angry at them for. It can be super hard to tell them that, and I remember feeling like they either just didn’t listen or didn’t understand what I was telling them because it’s all they knew. You have to talk to the people close to you, but you also have to remember that school sets you up for life afterwards! Make sure you don’t get bogged down by things you don’t love! It’s also important to remember that the longer you do science (after school and things) it gets way way more interesting and intense! I love science way more at uni than at school.
One thing I did hate, was chemistry. I hated it heaps, and I was pretty bad at it. I was really worried that if I wa sbad at chemistry and didn’t like it, I’d never be able to be a scientist like I wanted to. But then I went to uni and realised that there are heaps of scientists who don’t like one type of science but love others! And now I’m a biochemist anyway!
My answer is a little all over the place and I could keep going forever on a question like this, but make sure you talk to the people close to you, and you make some decisions that will make YOU happy too! And have a look all over the internet at different types of science. If you don’t like biology, there might be way more types of science you’ll love anyway (if you choose to go in a sciencey direction)!
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Hey Chris!
Year 10 is a tough one, I remember. You have a lot of decisions to make and it seems like whatever you do now will affect you forever!
BUT life is very flexible! First of all, if you really don’t like biology, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Studying a science, especially if you’re under a lot of pressure, can be pretty intense. Do you have a passion about something else?
Just because you choose to do certain subjects at school, or decide to drop some subjects (maybe even biology) doesn’t mean those doors get closed forever! Do what you feel is right for you, and know that you can always go back and learn something new later on.
I must admit, I don’t like biology much. We use bio as a tool to do chemistry (and I hated chemistry at school too! Whoa, bad track record for me, hey.) But I started to like chemistry slowly, and now I’m learning a bit of bio too. It all just happened naturally, no big life decisions, just one little step after another until I got where I am.
Just follow what you want to do and you might find new opportunities all around you. : )
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