2006-12-15 13:51:01 · 8 answers · asked by Tyrone 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
If I have a B.Sc. in something can I say I'm a scientist? I just want to sound cool is all.
2006-12-15 14:00:02 · update #1
you have to act like a mad scienteist
2006-12-15 13:54:26 · answer #1 · answered by slamminq 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Most people who call themselves scientists do some kind of research for a living, and you usually need a Ph.D. in the subject to do that. Then you can publish papers and discover things. But I suppose you could just get an BA or BS in a science field and call yourself a scientist - but real scientists do research.
People like Franklin and Newton didn't need Ph.D's in physics to do research because very little was known about the field at the time. Now, there's so much background you need to know to do anything new, you'll spend 10 years in college learning it all.
2006-12-15 21:57:15 · answer #2 · answered by eri 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Usually, get at least a bachelor's degree in a scientific field of study. Most working scientists have master's or PhDs, though, so you'll be at a disadvantage with just a bachelor's degree.
Generally, after your degree, you need to be actively working in a scientific field. That can be research, applied, or teaching in most cases.
There are, of course, working scientists who didn't get degrees of any kind...but if you're not degreed, you'd need to be high-up in rank where you're working in a scientific field to be considered a true scientist.
That has changed from centuries past, where anybody who did scientific research was considered a "scientist" whether they had degrees or not -- but the insistence on degrees makes sense as our knowledge has expanded, and scientific fields require you to know more (all those years of accumulated knowledge) before you can start working in a particular field.
2006-12-15 21:56:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what your BS is in. If you have a BS in Nursing or Computer Engineering, you are not a scientist. If it is a BS in some scientific area like Biology or Organic Chemistry then you could probably consider yourself to be a scientist, though I do agree with the guy who said that you should probably have a Ph.D. to be a scientist on paper as well.
2006-12-15 22:02:57 · answer #4 · answered by Ashley C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to simply do "scientific" research or study. Don't need a title to do this. Anybody who educates themselves in this can. Benjamin Franklin was a great example of this. You "do" have to earn associated titles such as PHD. etc. from universities as that are simply "standardized" titles that show that you have completed a certain discipline of scientific study and shown yourself proficient enough in it to garner the respect of your peers, or possibly teach it to others in schools. A scientist needs no "legal" title to exist. Just an inate curiousity and drive to find out "how things work and why"!
2006-12-15 22:01:20 · answer #5 · answered by mohavedesert 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only time the word scientist is used is by reporters dumbing science down for the masses. Be a theoretical physicist, or a bio-engineer.
2006-12-15 21:57:45 · answer #6 · answered by absynthian 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Be a scientist.
2006-12-15 21:58:37 · answer #7 · answered by robert m 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You probably have to earn a PhD in a scientific discipline.
2006-12-15 21:52:43 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋