• Question: What struggles did you face to get to where you are today?

    Asked by anon-269925 on 20 Nov 2020.
    • Photo: Nooshin Ghavami

      Nooshin Ghavami answered on 20 Nov 2020:

      I think for me the main struggle was that being in a male-dominated field wasn’t always the easiest. Although there was no direct sexism thankfully, sometimes I felt I had to work harder, and speak louder, in order to be seen and heard and listened to by my male colleagues. But at the same time it definitely made me more motivated to stay in my field!

    • Photo: Samantha Watson

      Samantha Watson answered on 23 Nov 2020:

      Firstly being female – at school there were 3 girls in my physics class and we NEVER got the best bits of equipment for experiments, often got the half-broken bits of kit and had to make do. Then at university there was still a level of sexism, of “girls shouldn’t do this” or “girls won’t be good at this” and there were many more boys than girls.

      Then I had my own problems and ended up failing some exams and having to side-track my career, initially taking a back step and pay cut before I could move forward again. But I worked through and when I’d re-established myself moved on again. I’m not proud of having failed, but I am pleased that I didn’t let it stop me for good.

    • Photo: Estela Gonzalez Fernandez

      Estela Gonzalez Fernandez answered on 23 Nov 2020:

      As Nooshin and Samantha mentioned, being a girl who wanted to pursue a science career was not easy. A lot of people did not understand why I liked science so much and told me that it would be very difficult.
      In my case, I’ve already moved twice to continue my studies and start a new job in other country, so that’s also something I struggle since I’m far from my family and really miss them.

    • Photo: Kirsty Lindsay

      Kirsty Lindsay answered on 24 Nov 2020:

      Following any dream will have it’s up’s and downs and sideways moments, but it is worth it in the end. My experiences have been like the other here- moving, working in a male-dominated field, balancing home life and work, these are pretty common in any challanginge enviroment.

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