Ivan Debono’s article ‘Do not choose science’ (The Sunday Times, October 14) comes across as heavy-handed and alarmist to me, a student who has just finished his undergraduate studies in chemistry and is currently furthering his studies.
I did not choose my course for monetary reasons, but because I had an interest in the subject. Over the last three years this course has provided me with a rich and deep understanding of the physical world and I am sure that there are other students who choose their courses for similar reasons. Reading for a degree in science trained me to manipulate data and learn actively and partake in critical and logical thinking, apart from providing me with other soft skills.
This is a far cry from the rote learning that may be encountered at other levels of the educational system.
It is these skills that can be taken outside of the laboratory, which is all too often portrayed as the scientist’s sole workplace, and translated into other career tracks.
This is why I feel that science degrees provide a far wider range of opportunities than the career tracks Dr Debono mentioned. For example it is possible for science graduates to find work in education, science communication, policy setting, management and patent law, with other fields also being available.
Post-graduate courses developing writing, industrial and other skills are also available. With the right training, science students have the opportunity to pursue a career within the industry of their choice. As with many things in life, ‘carpe diem’ applies.
When science students opt for a PhD they are not limiting themselves to academia, although some subjects do tend towards an academic setting. For decades PhD students and post-doctoral workers have found R&D work within industry – from start-ups to large corporations such as IBM, Intel or BASF.
Industry is also out-sourcing its work to research groups within academia and funding PhDs. If successful, these students are excellently placed to join the company after completing their research.
Dr Debono dissuades Maltese students from studying science while also furthering the idea that ‘science does not pay’ to the public, at a time when we do need to promote research and development in our country so as to transition to a knowledge-based economy. Although he successfully completed his PhD studies, he did not provide us with an account of his experiences, or even mention which field he performed his studies in. Furthermore, it is unfair to lambast national agencies for providing students with opportunities to further their studies, while he has already finished his.