---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I grew up thinking that a research…"
description: "\"I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural thing to be.\" — Stephen Hawking"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg"
---

#  I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural…

![“I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural thing to be.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg)

> “I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural thing to be.”

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Science careers seem natural to some, but this perception can be limiting for others.

**In simple terms:** Science feels like a default path for some.

Key Takeaway

Explore diverse career possibilities.

Themes

education career inspiration

Mood

encouraging thoughtful

Type

motivational educational

When to use this quote

- school counseling
- career fairs
- mentoring programs
- parental guidance

Key Concepts

sociology career development

Questions to Reflect On

- What barriers might prevent someone from pursuing science?
- How can we broaden exposure to scientific careers?

A Different Perspective

Not everyone has equal access to scientific role models.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [“Nonetheless, they remind us that ignorance is the natural state of mind for a research scientist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/nonetheless-they-remind-us-that-ignorance-is-the-natural-state-of/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of Nature, and therefore this holds for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientific-research-is-based-on-the-idea-that-everything-that-takes-3/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientific-research-is-based-on-the-idea-that-everything-that-takes-2/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [“Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientific-research-is-based-on-the-idea-that-everything-that-takes/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [My dad worked at NASA his whole career; he's a research scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/my-dad-worked-at-nasa-his-whole-career-he-s-a-research-scientist/)

[Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/)

> [If I was a research scientist, I'd want people to say, 'You know what, he's a great research scientist, that Ricky Gervais. He's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-i-was-a-research-scientist-i-d-want-people-to-say-you-know-what-he/)

[Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/)

> [Under normal conditions the research scientist is not an innovator but a solver of puzzles, and the puzzles upon which he concentrates are just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/under-normal-conditions-the-research-scientist-is-not-an-innovator/)

[Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/)

> [If a scientist is not befuddled by what they're looking at, then they're not a research scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-a-scientist-is-not-befuddled-by-what-they-re-looking-at-then-they/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [I grew up thinking that corporate America was my destination. Then I got there, and I was making the money I wanted to make,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-gibbs/i-grew-up-thinking-that-corporate-america-was-my-destination-then-i/)

[Lauren Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-gibbs/)

> [In our home we grew up thinking we were Mormons first and human beings second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-johnson/in-our-home-we-grew-up-thinking-we-were-mormons-first-and-human/)

[Sonia Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-johnson/)

> [I grew up thinking, 'You go to university, you get your degree, you get a job, you get married and then you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/i-grew-up-thinking-you-go-to-university-you-get-your-degree-you-get-a/)

[KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/)

> [I grew up thinking I had very little value. It's not something I felt I could share with my mom so it was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/i-grew-up-thinking-i-had-very-little-value-it-s-not-something-i-felt/)

[Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/)

> [It was always assumed I would be a professor. I grew up thinking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/it-was-always-assumed-i-would-be-a-professor-i-grew-up-thinking-it/)

[Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/)

> [I grew up thinking that whatever I wanted to do, I could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-principal/i-grew-up-thinking-that-whatever-i-wanted-to-do-i-could-do/)

[Victoria Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-principal/)

> [I grew up thinking of show business as a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-basil/i-grew-up-thinking-of-show-business-as-a-business/)

[Toni Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-basil/)

## More by Stephen Hawking

> [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good-record-of-intelligent/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. For me this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-have-finally-found-something-that-doesn-t-have-a-cause-because/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-believe-the-simplest-explanation-is-there-is-no-god-no-one-created/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-paralympic-games-is-about-transforming-our-perception-of-the-world/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/most-sets-of-values-would-give-rise-to-universes-that-although-they/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. He reasoned that something invisible must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/empedocles-noticed-that-if-you-cover-the-neck-before-you-immerse-it-a/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-shouldn-t-have-all-its-eggs-in-one-basket-or-on-one/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

[Explore all 601 Stephen Hawking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

## More Grew quotes

> [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/)

[Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/)

> [I grew up in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/)

[Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/)

> [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/)

[Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/)

> [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/)

[Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/)

> [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [I grew up in Mumbai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fareed-zakaria/i-grew-up-in-mumbai/)

[Fareed Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fareed-zakaria/)

> [I think anyone that grew up in the '70s and '80s grew up with Bob Barker and Wink Martindale and I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/i-think-anyone-that-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-80s-grew-up-with-bob/)

[Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/)

> [I got to meet some of the best people I've ever met, and we all grew as people and as entertainers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/i-got-to-meet-some-of-the-best-people-i-ve-ever-met-and-we-all-grew/)

[Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/)

> [Once my family grew bigger I loved Portland more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-wallace/once-my-family-grew-bigger-i-loved-portland-more/)

[Rasheed Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-wallace/)

> [Grew up in a small town where there was only one crazy guy. He didn't even go insane doing anything good, like going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/grew-up-in-a-small-town-where-there-was-only-one-crazy-guy-he-didn-t/)

[Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/)

> [I grew up with a religious background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-caruso/i-grew-up-with-a-religious-background/)

[Alex Caruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-caruso/)

> [I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. She would cut the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/i-have-to-say-i-grew-up-with-fashion-because-my-mother-was-a/)

[Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/)

> [This role is more visible, and I grew up without a lot of that sort of modeling so I'm relieved and proud to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/this-role-is-more-visible-and-i-grew-up-without-a-lot-of-that-sort-of/)

[Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/)

> [I grew up on a set and saw my family doing it and thought, 'I can do that too.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/i-grew-up-on-a-set-and-saw-my-family-doing-it-and-thought-i-can-do/)

[Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/)

> [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/)

[Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/)

Browse all 6,016 Grew quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural thing to be.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen Hawking"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scientist-was-a-natural-thing-to-be/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Grew"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scientist-was-a-natural-thing-to-be/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/stephen-hawking-389_grew_i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scien_601253.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural thing to be.” — Stephen Hawking",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Stephen Hawking",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I grew up thinking that a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scientist-was-a-natural-thing-to-be/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-grew-up-thinking-that-a-research-scientist-was-a-natural-thing-to-be/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
