Question: Was there a specfic field that you wanted to work in when you were younger? Is it the field you work in now? If not, why are you working in a different one?

Clare Devery answered on 13 Mar 2015:

When I was younger I wanted to be a doctor. I loved science and maths in school and thought it would be the right job for me. However as I learnt more I realised that while medicine is really fascinating, I was more interested in the equipment used to treat patients than the diseases or cancers themselves. I figured out that biomedical engineering or medical physics were the two main routes to get to learn about the equipment.
Now I’m working in the clinical environment still and talk to doctors everyday, so I still get my fix of medical news! But I can focus on the machinery (specifically MRI scanners) which is where my main interests lie.

It’s difficult to know in school what things are your favourite, but when you discover which areas interest you most make sure to research the types of jobs available! This is where I nearly slipped up – I knew I was interested in what goes on in a hospital, so I automatically thought doctor. But when I looked more closely at the different job roles, I realised that medical physics was more my cup of tea!