--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Becoming a scientist is a long journey…" description: "\"Becoming a scientist is a long journey, and at every step, I found projects that were exciting, motivating me to continue. My path was not straightforw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/carrie-nugent-18083_astronomy_becoming-a-scientist-is-a-long-journey-a_895182.jpg" --- # Becoming a scientist is a long journey, and at every step… ![“Becoming a scientist is a long journey, and at every step, I found projects that were exciting, motivating me to continue. My path was not straightforward - when I began studying physics in college, I had no idea I would end up studying asteroids; in fact, I never took an astronomy class.” quote by Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/carrie-nugent-18083_astronomy_becoming-a-scientist-is-a-long-journey-a_895182.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/carrie-nugent-18083_astronomy_becoming-a-scientist-is-a-long-journey-a_895182.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/carrie-nugent-18083_astronomy_becoming-a-scientist-is-a-long-journey-a_895182.jpg) > “Becoming a scientist is a long journey, and at every step, I found projects that were exciting, motivating me to continue. My path was not straightforward - when I began studying physics in college, I had no idea I would end up studying asteroids; in fact, I never took an astronomy class.” [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scientist’s path is nonlinear, driven by curiosity and excitement in each project. **In simple terms:** Science is a winding, exciting journey. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and follow passion. Themes science career exploration Mood inspired optimistic Type motivational personal growth When to use this quote - research labs - graduate studies - career transitions Key Concepts interdisciplinary learning motivation Questions to Reflect On - What excites you most in your work? - How do you navigate unexpected turns? A Different Perspective May face funding and resource challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end/) [Every step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-step/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-journey/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Studying Asteroids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studying-asteroids-1189012/) [Studying Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studying-physics-1189010/) [Took Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took-astronomy-1189011/) ## Related quotes > [I love studying asteroids because they are relatively simple, just rocks in space. They can be understood with physics and described with elegant equations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/i-love-studying-asteroids-because-they-are-relatively-simple-just/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [When I tell people I'm a space scientist studying asteroids, they sometimes assume I'm a super-smart math whiz. The kind of person who skipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/when-i-tell-people-i-m-a-space-scientist-studying-asteroids-they/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [I started out with the intention of studying physics. I was a terrible high school student outside of the fact that I did well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-simons/i-started-out-with-the-intention-of-studying-physics-i-was-a-terrible/) [Timothy Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-simons/) > [When I was a college student at Yale, I was studying physics and mathematics and was absolutely intent on becoming a theoretical physicist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rothman/when-i-was-a-college-student-at-yale-i-was-studying-physics-and/) [James Rothman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rothman/) > [Studying physics, mathematics, and chemistry is worshipping God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fethullah-gulen/studying-physics-mathematics-and-chemistry-is-worshipping-god/) [Fethullah Gulen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fethullah-gulen/) > [I was black, studying physics and engineering. I was from a small school nobody ever heard of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-moses/i-was-black-studying-physics-and-engineering-i-was-from-a-small/) [Edwin Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-moses/) > [I'm proud of the fact that I thought of the solar wind. It was an exercise in pursuing curiosity, which is the main motivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-parker/i-m-proud-of-the-fact-that-i-thought-of-the-solar-wind-it-was-an/) [Eugene Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-parker/) > [We get the exciting result that the total energy of the universe is zero. Why this should be so is one of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/we-get-the-exciting-result-that-the-total-energy-of-the-universe-is/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The mathematician requires tact and good taste at every step of his work, and he has to learn to trust to his own instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whitbread-lee-glaisher/the-mathematician-requires-tact-and-good-taste-at-every-step-of-his/) [James Whitbread Lee Glaisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whitbread-lee-glaisher/) > [It is just the start of your professional career and you have to handle it properly and realise that it is not always like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-bellerin/it-is-just-the-start-of-your-professional-career-and-you-have-to/) [Hector Bellerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-bellerin/) > [Climbing is this long term, lifelong journey. It's really important to just take your time with it and keep it fun. I've seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sharma/climbing-is-this-long-term-lifelong-journey-it-s-really-important-to/) [Chris Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sharma/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“The two climbers looked at each other, a glance that bored all the way down to Medvetz's DNA - not desperate or pleading or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-heil/the-two-climbers-looked-at-each-other-a-glance-that-bored-all-the-way/) [Nick Heil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-heil/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“You’d better keep her tied.” “Why?” A yawn stretched Hunter’s dark face. “Because she’s looking skittish.” “She’s naked.” Sheathing his knife, Hunter flopped on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/you-d-better-keep-her-tied-why-a-yawn-stretched-hunter-s-dark-face/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) ## More by Carrie Nugent > [There are all these interesting rules about asteroid nomenclature. Once you discover it, you have the right to name it, but there's a catch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/there-are-all-these-interesting-rules-about-asteroid-nomenclature/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [NEOWISE needed a cryogen coolant to keep its sensors cool, and that ran out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/neowise-needed-a-cryogen-coolant-to-keep-its-sensors-cool-and-that/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [We've actually named asteroids for other famous women in history, like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth. But it's really this Malala one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/we-ve-actually-named-asteroids-for-other-famous-women-in-history-like/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [An asteroid impact in the worst case scenario is a terrifying thing. It seems very uncontrollable: in popular culture, it's often a metaphor for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/an-asteroid-impact-in-the-worst-case-scenario-is-a-terrifying-thing/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [Back in the day, I've heard, particularly with the near-Earth asteroids, there were some asteroid hunters that knew the names of every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/back-in-the-day-i-ve-heard-particularly-with-the-near-earth-asteroids/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [Certainly what happened to the dinosaurs was not good - that was a terrible day for the dinosaurs, very sad. But I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/certainly-what-happened-to-the-dinosaurs-was-not-good-that-was-a/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [The best thing to do is to study these asteroids so we know the range of parameters we would have to deal with and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/the-best-thing-to-do-is-to-study-these-asteroids-so-we-know-the-range/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [Changing the asteroid's velocity changes the time when the asteroid crosses Earth's orbit. After all, just because it crosses Earth's path doesn't mean there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/changing-the-asteroid-s-velocity-changes-the-time-when-the-asteroid/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [If we found a hazardous asteroid, we could nudge it out of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/if-we-found-a-hazardous-asteroid-we-could-nudge-it-out-of-the-way/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [One of the reasons NEOWISE is so valuable is that it sees the sky in the thermal infrared. That means that instead of seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/one-of-the-reasons-neowise-is-so-valuable-is-that-it-sees-the-sky-in/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [I think the public perception about asteroids is that they're kind of metaphors for acts of God, the fact that we have no control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/i-think-the-public-perception-about-asteroids-is-that-they-re-kind-of/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [There are physical bodies, physical worlds that astronauts could visit, that we haven't found yet. Especially, there's these close approaches of asteroids. They pass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/there-are-physical-bodies-physical-worlds-that-astronauts-could-visit/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [Most astronomical work has to do with things that are very, very far away and don't affect our lives very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/most-astronomical-work-has-to-do-with-things-that-are-very-very-far/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [NEOCam wouldn't need cryogen, and it would also be able to see entirely new areas of space. It can scan the sky in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/neocam-wouldn-t-need-cryogen-and-it-would-also-be-able-to-see/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [If you were to stand on an asteroid in the main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter in our solar system, you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/if-you-were-to-stand-on-an-asteroid-in-the-main-belt-of-asteroids/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) [Explore all 35 Carrie Nugent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Becoming a scientist is a long journey, and at every step, I found projects that were exciting, motivating me to continue. 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