PhD student at the Tyndall National Institute, UCC
Paudie Scanlon - studying for a PhD in Applied Physics
What were the main ‘career decision’ milestones in your life so far?
I’ve always been interested in figuring out how things work, so I took physics and engineering in the Leaving Cert, and tech graphics as I had thought that I wanted to do some kind of engineering.
This helped me a great deal when I eventually decided to do applied physics in college. As I progressed through college, I realised the best way to keep learning was to go on to do postgrad study.
Who are the people who most influenced your career direction?
The first person to point me in the direction of physics was my secondary school teacher. A lot of the syllabus is very fundamental stuff and can be quite boring, but he showed that once we had a good grounding in that we could progress on to the fun stuff.
The fact that we did the new syllabus helped as well, as it gives good practical examples of how the theory you just learned can be applied.
My dad went back to college and got his degree and started doing research while I was in college, so he was a big influence as well.
Describe a typical day
There is a good bit of variety in the way I work. An average day would entail some reading on the area that I’m working on and then I’ll spend some time programming.
I also get to do some outreach activities, which is where we go to a school to give a talk, or judge a science fair. There is at least one talk every week in Tyndall, so I get to go to those as well.
My great passion is surf photography and this is very dependent on day-to-day changes in the weather and tides, so the flexibility in my work allows me to pursue my hobby.
What are the main challenges?
Grasping the new ideas and theories in the area I’m working in is quite challenging, but it’s why I’m doing research – to learn new things.
Because I’m working in the quantum area, this can prove pretty difficult as a lot of the theories are very different from the world that we are used to.
What’s “cool” about your work?
The rush you get when you get the result you were looking for, when your program finally works and the joy of learning new things. I’ll often come home to my girlfriend and just jabber away about what I found out that day.
Luckily she is doing a PhD in Chemistry and is able to understand most of what I’m saying even if sometimes I don’t myself. But it usually makes sense inside my head.
What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?
Being motivated is a bonus in any job you do. There isn’t always going to be someone looking over your shoulder (which is a good and bad thing) telling you what to do, so you need to be driven enough to keep working. Obviously to be a good scientist you need to be open to new ideas and willing to disregard what you thought you knew.]
What is your education to date?
St Caimin’s Secondary School, Shannon. I didn’t do Transition Year, but I probably should have because going into your Leaving a year older is almost definitely a bonus.
I did applied physics for four years in the University of Limerick and the most relevant subject was the optics module in the final semester. The further you progress in an area, the more interesting it becomes.
I realised I was more suited to theoretical work in college, as I always found the math modules very appealing – particularly the Fluid Mechanics module I took in final year. My final year project was on Quantum Tunnelling and is actually pretty relevant to do work I’m doing now.
After my degree, I did a one-year Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship. While this reinforced my belief that science is both more challenging and enjoyable than business, I did benefit from the course, particularly in relation to my presentation skills.
I also realised the importance of networking, which sounds corny but is actually very important.
What personal qualities do you have that helps you in your career?
A willingness to learn more – I think this is really important so that you don’t get lazy in what you do.
I’m pretty extroverted – I like knowing a lot of people and as a result I have no problem going up and talking to new people. This really helps with networking and getting to know new people in your own workplace and meeting possible collaborators.
What advice would you give to someone considering this job?
Make sure you look into the area that you will be researching. You don’t want to spend three to four years working in an area you’re only vaguely interested in. Don’t be afraid to be yourself.
What are the most important personal characteristics required for the job?
Persistence and curiosity
What kind of work experience would provide a good background for this position?
Summer placements in big research centres are ideal for finding out about these types of research jobs.
