Want to Be a Molecular Biologist? 'Learn Computer Programming' and Physics

Ethan Siegel offers some "advice for young aspiring scientists" at Starts with a Bang! this week. In emphasizing the importance of mathematics, the blogger says that "learning math up through and including calculus should provide you with all of the tools you'll need to head down any scientific path." He also suggests that students interested in pursuing careers in research should learn "a good deal about the three major sciences" — chemistry, biology, and physics — because "you will learn valuable ways of thinking and problem solving from each course that are distinct from the other two." Finally, Siegel says that young aspiring scientists should make an effort to learn computer programming, though "not just computer science or computer usage," he says. "If you're going to become a scientist, you're going to need to know how to make a machine do repetitive tasks that no one has made it do before," Siegel says.