I chose to do chemistry because when I first came to UWA I was unsure what I wanted to
do. I knew I loved science but I wasn't sure what area of science. But I found out
no matter what I was studying, whether is was physics or human anatomy, I'd find myself
trying to relate everything back to what was happening to molecules. And when I realised
that was what was happening, it seems like it was a really clear choice to make.
I chose to do a chemistry major probably because I started out with the two different majors
that I kind of preferred. Chemistry was something that I enjoyed at high school and as it went
on, in second year, I enjoyed chemistry more and it ended up being the thing I liked best
so I ended up sticking with that. I went into the chemistry major not knowing
what to really expect so everything that I have experienced in my undergrad has been
a pretty much a new experience. Something that surprised me in making my decision
about chemistry was that I found from the very first day that I started my undergraduate,
in the first lecture, they wanted to know who you were. They wanted to know what you
were interested in. What you wanted to do. I felt in chemistry more than any of the other
topics that I was doing, I felt like a person rather than a student number. It's a really
nice community to be a part of. I've formed quite good friendships with
people in the labs. Seeing them every week in the labs for six hours and then seeing them
outside in the lectures and in other units as well.
One of the things I didn't expect was the emphasis on lab work. At UWA the chemistry
course has either three hours a week for some units or six hours a week per lab for other
units. So that was a bit unexpected, especially coming from high school where labs were more
periphery or more one or two hours a week as opposed to being the large part it. It
is of course a tertiary chemistry course. However, saying that it is very rewarding.
It's very rewarding when you are posed with a challenge in a lab or as part of your curriculum
and you meet that challenge and you sort of exceed your initial expectations of what you
you were going to achieve. The lab work took me a little while to get
used to but once I got used to this scary thing of doing your own chemistry I really
enjoyed that in chemistry labs you actually get to do a thing. You make something or you're
actually measuring what's really going on. It's not making models, it's not looking
at diagrams, it's actually doing stuff and I really enjoyed that.
There have been bits that I haven't enjoyed and bits that I have found really good and
I think from that I have found the area of chemistry that I enjoy the most. One of the
things that I've really enjoyed about chemistry here is the labs. I think doing the hands
on practical side of chemistry, it's a bit more exciting than just learning about the
theory in the lectures. I didn't expect it to be so good to tell
you the truth. In first year when I first started I was planning on doing the two majors
and I didn't think that chemistry was the one that I would be continuing on with but
by second year I actually found I liked it better and I suppose that is what surprised
me most. It was actually quite fun and you got to do the lab work and also the theory
behind it. The area of chemistry that I have mostly enjoyed
was the physical and analytical side of it. Through most of my undergrad I switched between
synthetic chemistry and physical chemistry because my interests kept changing and it
was only quite later on that I realised I really enjoy the physical, theoretical, analytical
side of it.
Much the same, I'm very interested in analytical physical chemistry and for much the same reasons.
I think that playing with big machines is much more fun than making things in a lab,
which is what the synthetic side does. In my undergrad I was really interested in
natural products and things that happen in nature and in my honours project I made a
bit of a compromise with my supervisor. He does carbohydrate chemistry and I like natural
products so I worked on something that was a combination of the two and I have to admit
that probably I am now more interested in carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology. I
never really realised that everybody is always talking about proteins, proteins, proteins
but carbohydrates man, they do everything! The area of chemistry that I am most interested
in is probably metallic chemistry and I just enjoy metallic chemistry because there are
so many metals and there is such a wide possibility of reactions and you know that everything
can be explored and I've had a fascination with metals since third year when I did organo-metallic
chemistry and I worked specifically on gold. And I enjoy the work and it's really interesting.
I was surprised at how topical all of our lectures were. We were actually learning about
stuff that was happening now and things that were really interesting. That, this goes on
in nature or this happens in the human body, it wasn't just hard fast theory, learn all
this theory. It was actually, hey this is how this is relevant and this is how this
applies to you as a person. I really enjoyed that.
That's a thing to emphasise as well. You aren't just learning chemistry, you are
learning a set of knowledge. You don't just learn about your hydrogens and your heliums
and all that. What you are learning about is a set of skills, problem solving, analytical
skills, communication skills and things like that which in the end place you in a better
position to get you a job at the end of the day.
I've been quite interested in possibly going into defence and using the analytical skills
that I've gained through chemistry in analysing for strategic intelligence and defence. So
I think even if I don't end up using chemistry in a career, the skills that I learnt in chemistry
- that's put me in a good position for future careers.
I think the chemistry major at UWA puts me in very good stead to find a job and have
a career in chemistry. Especially in Western Australia given our unique resources and wealth
up north. I found that in my honours year, I've learnt
so many skills that I didn't really learn in my under graduate years. And it made me
feel like I can learn new things and I know I can go out into any kind of industry and
be able to work independently. And, whilst I really loved the theory and learning things
in my undergrad, I found that it was the honours year that gave me the confidence in myself.
Whether I go out into a chemistry specific field or into any industry in science, I feel
I can pick up what I need to.