Liking Biology Doesn't Mean You Have to Become a Doctor
For most of my school life, one idea was repeatedly reinforced: being good at science meant you were smart. Science was the stream you chose if you were academically strong. Commerce or the humanities were often presented as alternatives for students who weren't “good enough” at science. As a result, I never really appreciated subjects like history, English literature, geography, or economics as much as I should have. I had unconsciously bought into the idea that science was somehow more valuable than everything else.
Then, at the end of Grade 10, I had to make a decision that would supposedly shape my career: Which stream would I choose? In India, students typically choose between Science, Commerce, and the Humanities before entering Grade 11. At 16 or 17, we are expected to make a decision that can feel like it will determine the rest of our lives. I chose Science, with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Informatics Practices as my subjects.
Looking back, choosing Informatics Practices was one of the best things I could have done. I was actually good at coding. I enjoyed learning Python, and coding eventually became a hobby. But I didn't think much about where that interest could take me. My plan was to become a doctor. And, in my mind, doctors didn't need to code.
Biology doesn't have to mean medicine
When I moved to the US for my undergraduate degree, I encountered a very different approach to education. I chose to major in Biochemistry because I was interested in biology and wanted to eventually work in drug development. But unlike the highly structured academic paths I had been used to, my liberal arts college gave me the freedom to explore subjects outside my major. And I took advantage of it. I worked on research projects in analytical chemistry, toxicology, and microbiology. I tried different areas of science, hoping I would eventually find the one I wanted to pursue. And I didn't particularly enjoy any of them.
At the same time, I took a computer science course as an elective. And I liked it way too much to ignore it. Suddenly, I had a problem I hadn't anticipated. I loved biology and wanted to work in drug discovery. I also loved computer science. Instead of choosing one, I started asking a different question: What if I could combine them?
I began speaking to scientists working in different fields and exploring careers that sat at the intersection of biology, chemistry, and computing. That's when I discovered computational chemistry. It was a field I didn't even know existed when I was 17. Today, it sits at the intersection of many of the things I had become interested in over the years: chemistry, biology, programming, and computational problem-solving. And I wouldn't have discovered it if I had decided at 17 that I had to choose one subject and build my entire career around it.
The problem with choosing too early
This is why I think multidisciplinary education matters. The world doesn't neatly divide itself into Science, Commerce, and Humanities. Biology and computer science can come together to create computational biology. Psychology and Economics can come together in behavioral economics. Economics and data science can create new approaches to understanding markets. Some of the most interesting careers exist at the intersection of disciplines. But you can't discover those intersections if you never get the opportunity to explore both sides.
Students shouldn't have to choose between interests
To this day, I am incredibly grateful that I didn't have to decide my entire career at 17. Those four additional years of exploring different subjects gave me something much more valuable than a fixed career plan: I discovered what I actually enjoy. And perhaps most importantly, I discovered that my interests didn't have to compete with each other. I didn't have to choose between science and computer science. I could build a career around both.
That experience has made me appreciate initiatives like Futurowise, which expose high school students to a much broader range of careers, industries, and emerging fields. Students shouldn't have to believe that their choices are limited to becoming an engineer, a doctor, or a few other traditionally recognised professions simply because those are the careers they have heard about most often or are the safe choices. The world of work is much bigger than that. And sometimes, the career that fits you best isn't sitting neatly inside one subject. It might exist somewhere in between.
By Mehak Mittal, Centre College class of 2026
