Future Scientist

World problem solver

Scientists are humanity’s frontline. Wherever answers are needed they lead the charge - overcoming complex global challenges, solving real-world problems and developing solutions for the future.

Incredibly, science is predicted to bring more human progress in the next 50 years than the previous 400 combined.

Fighting climate change… saving lives… sustaining the environment… ending hunger… colonising Mars... However you want to make a difference, science holds the key. And the University of Adelaide can put it in your hands.

What type of scientist will you be?

Agricultural

Animal

Biological

Business

Chemical

Environmental

Physical

Space

Not sure what type of scientist you want to be?

Discover what science-based careers are available that match your favourite subjects at school.

Favourite school subject

Second favourite school subject

You selected biology and chemistry.

Biomedical science and biotechnology are growing sectors which use the skills you learn in health science and biology at school. Future jobs include being a biochemist or biotechnologist, but if you prefer the more organic side of biology dealing with plants and animals, perhaps look into becoming a biosecurity officer, food technologist, soil scientist or perhaps even a winemaker.

You selected biology and earth and environment.

Do you like discovering, recording and communicating what's going on around you? Being an ecologist requires you to apply your analytical skills and understanding of the world around us to determine how to perform research on ecosystems. Depending on the habitat you are interested in you can specialise as a marine biologist, a wildlife conservationist, an environmental or nature resource manager or perhaps even start your own business as an ecotourism operator.

You selected biology and mathematics.

As data collection methods advance there is a growing need for biologists to have skills in maths to analyse and make sense of the vast amounts of data they collect. Future jobs are emerging in areas like biostatistics, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and ecology.

You selected biology and nutrition.

Combining biology with nutrition opens up a number of exciting jobs in the food industry, from making food healthier to coming up with entirely new products. If you can't choose between biology or nutrition why not consider a career as a food scientist, food technologist, plant scientist or nutritionist.

You selected biology and physics.

By looking at the living world around and within us through the lens of physics new discoveries are being made. Some researchers are even advancing treatments for Alzheimer's and Parkinsons using the knowledge physics has uncovered. If you want to explore the physical properties of living systems then why not consider a career in biophysics, biomedical science, physiology or palaeontology.

You selected chemistry and biology.

If you love chemistry and also like biology, a career as a biochemist or biotechnologist might be right for you. If you're keen on research and analytics, you might be interested in finding out more about microbiology. You may also want to check out what pharmacists and winemakers do.

You selected chemistry and earth and environment.

Addressing environmental issues such as climate change, water pollution and soil contamination will need scientists who understand the chemical processes behind these situations. If you have an interest in chemistry and how it applies to earth and environmental science you might want to look at a career as a soil scientist, geochemist, geoscientist, geologist, or environmental chemist.

You selected chemistry and mathematics.

Combine your interest in chemistry and maths and look into jobs as a chemist or materials scientist where you study chemicals and their properties with an eye toward creating new processes and products. If you've also got an interest in physics and biology you might want to check out what a chemical engineer does.

You selected chemistry and nutrition.

Who makes quality ice cream taste so creamy and who saves crops from pests without polluting our water? Chemists in nutrition and food sciences do these things and more. Chemistry is a core science behind food production and processing. If you want to pair your love of chemistry with nutrition you may want to consider being a flavour chemist, soil scientist, dietitian, nutritionist or food scientist.

You selected chemistry and physics.

Careers that combine chemistry and physics can span many sectors including biotechnology, electronics, petroleum, pharmaceutical or chemical industries. Chemical engineers are multidisciplinary and work on many of the same tasks as chemists but with additional knowledge in physics and biology and a materials scientist develop new products and enhance existing ones through a combination of chemistry and physics. Environmental scientists also use both sciences to problem solve environmental challenges.

You selected earth & environment and biology.

Combining earth and environmental science with biology can provide critical insights into the history and future of life, both on earth and in outer space. You could be a microbiologist who studies the balance of microbes in our environment and the impact that has on human health, a wildlife biologist dedicated to preserving animal species, a palaeontologist using fossil records to inform conservation decisions for the future or even a geobiologist looking at mineral and microbe interactions in outer space.

You selected earth & environment and chemistry.

If your passion for earth and environmental science also extends to chemistry then there are a number of careers open to you. You might choose to uncover natural resources and create ways to protect the environment as a geochemist, evaluate soils for sustainable agricultural production as a soil scientist, combat greenhouse gases and global warming as an atmospheric chemist, or observe and forecast weather events as a meteorologist.

You selected earth & environment and mathematics.

Maths features heavily in many jobs within the area of earth and environmental science. Environmental scientists and ecologists rely heavily on maths to process and analyse large amounts of data and geophysicist use calculations to determine possible digs and spend hours poring over geological data. Meteorologists use maths to understand and predict weather and climate.

You selected earth & environment and nutrition.

Many environmental issues that we face today are in part caused by our current food choices and agricultural practices. It won't be long before dietary guidelines discuss both health and the environmental impacts of our food choices.

You could be an agricultural scientist and pioneer sustainable farming using renewable inputs, or become a plant scientist and improve the availability of nutritious plant-based foods. Or you could become a biosecurity officer to safeguard food and the environment against the threat of pests and disease.

You selected earth & environment and physics.

You can study nature at its most base level by adding physics to earth and environmental science. Physics has massive implications in areas like climate change, renewable energy, pollution and human health. Combine geology and physics as a geophysicist to study the mysteries of the earth, from the bottom of the sea to the top of the atmosphere.

Use your knowledge to specialise in a specific area of earth science, like seismology, hydrology, or gravity. Or you might like to be a meteorologist and create predictive models for climate change.

You selected mathematics and biology.

Biology is not usually a science associated with maths, but together they can play a critical role in giving us a better understanding the natural world; from mathematical models that can describe natural occurrences or complex predictive models for human health.

Biostatisticians use statistics to explain relationships in the natural world and bioinformatics scientists incorporate mathematics into their work in areas like the genetic causes of disease.

Wildlife conservation biologists also need mathematical skills to wade through massive data sets to create insights and track species and there are emerging jobs in precision agriculture to consider as well.

You selected mathematics and chemistry.

Maths and chemistry can be combined to create a career in a number of different fields, including medicine, pharmaceuticals or even finance. Medical scientists use both maths and chemistry skills to understand medical issues, such as diseases, and a forensic scientist applies their skills in both fields to secure and analyse evidence for law enforcement. You could also inspire the next generation of scientists by becoming a science teacher.

You selected mathematics and earth & environment.

Can algebra and trigonometry save the planet? With the explosion of big data our understanding the environment is becoming more reliant on scientists who can analyse and find meaning in complex data. You can use your mathematical skills to help address important environmental challenges as a data scientist, ecologist or environmental scientist.

You selected mathematics and nutrition.

Maths is present in all aspects of food and nutrition. From farm to fork, maths can explain and model safe production, storage, testing, transport, cooking, eating and the digestion of food.

Statistics and data analysis are crucial for food scientists and numeracy related tasks are common as a public health nutritionist. The ability to analyse large amounts of data is also vital to agricultural scientists so they can maximise crops and adapt to changing weather conditions.

You selected mathematics and physics.

Are you curious, analytical and keen to look at data or information to extract valuable insights which can be used to solve a given problem?

Data scientists use maths and scientific theories to analyse, interpret and communicate information in business, banking, healthcare, conservation, manufacturing and more.

You might also be interested in creating a start-up or becoming an entrepreneur, or consider being a broker or a hedge fund manager.

You selected nutrition and biology.

Understanding food and nutrition through the lens of biology can open the door to a number of rewarding careers. You could create sustainable new foods as a food scientist, you could work as a microbiologist to analyse how diet affects our gut bacteria or work as a public health nutritionist to advise the best diet for preventing heart disease.

You selected nutrition and chemistry.

Celebrity chef's like Heston Blumenthal have made the science of food and nutrition big business. Combine chemistry with your interest in what we eat by creating new flavours, nutritional contents, or packaging as a food chemist or food technologist.

You selected nutrition and earth & environment.

Experts agree that the Earth cannot sustain our current meat-based diets for much longer. Overpopulation and resource depletion will force us to re-think our menus and search for new and more sustainable food sources. Bugs or algae for dinner anyone? Food scientists are working to develop new plant-based proteins and plant scientists are coming with new breeds that can withstand the effects of climate change. You might decide to be a biotechnologist and bring lab-grown meat to the market.

You selected nutrition and mathematics.

Food and nutrition go hand in hand with mathematics. Whether it is calculating nutritional values for food labels as a food scientist or using predictive modelling that applies to public health nutrition as a policy officer, an interest and background in maths will give you an edge.

You selected nutrition and physics.

One of life's great pleasures is food but often little thought is given to the physics behind cooking and our experience of eating. It is helpful for food scientists to understand the physics of flavour, as well as nutritionists to understand the physics of texture and how it might influence acceptability of healthy food options. A food physicist might work to improve the dehydration process when making crisps.

You selected physics and biology.

Exploring biology with a physicists mindset can lead to exciting discoveries. Did you know the structure of the DNA double helix was solved by a collaboration of both sciences? Today you could become a medical physicist, a biomedical scientist, palaeontologist or even a biophysicist.

You selected physics and chemistry.

Combine your love for physics, chemistry and maths as an astrophysicist. As biophysicists are multi-disciplinary you could work in a lab researching areas like genetic disorders or nerve communication. You could even inspire the next generation of scientists as a science teacher.

You selected physics and earth & environment.

Using high-resolution satellite data, scientists have spotted the potential for emerging space techniques and technology to monitor climate change, sea level changes and even track wildlife migration patterns. You might work as a geophysicist who uses satellite technology to study the shape of the Earth and it's rotation or an meteorologist who develops atmospheric climate models.

You selected physics and mathematics.

If you want to apply scientific theory to real-world problems, then future jobs as an astrophysicist, meteorologist or space scientist might be a great fit for you. You might also consider applying your skills as a data scientist or a merchant banker or broker the potential to work in the finance sector analysing stock markets and future funds.

You selected physics and nutrition.

It might seem an unlikely pairing, but physics underpins much of our food and nutrition industry, from new food technology to understanding oral processing and food microstructure. You might work as physicist who develops new sensor or imaging techniques or as a food physicist who looks at heat and mass transfer in different food products. You could even work as a science communicator explaining the physics of cooking.

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Teacher and school resources

We have developed several teacher and classroom resources which are available for you to promote science careers to your 'future scientists'.

Teacher & School Resources