Bella Boulderstone

"My personality types are: Developer, Influencer and Quality Controller.Developers are interested in the world around them and how to make it better and like to make products and services better. I really relate to those ideas, things can always be better and I try and make sure that I can do that. I don't think things should stay the same, I think things should change, evolve and grow. It also says that I'm a problem solver which I think is pretty true. I enjoy getting stuck into something and fixing it & enjoys learning new things? That's definitely me. Love learning new stuff.Also says that I'm an Influencer who are good at explaining so that people understand. I think that's really true, I used to work in outreach which did mean that I would go around explaining things to people. It also says that I have leadership qualities and I do like to lead a team. I like to be in charge a bit and make sure things are going in the right direction, as well as helping other people get there too. It does say that influencers are 'polite' which I don't know that I am! I think I'm a little cheeky and a bit rude sometimes so maybe no that one!Quality Controllers are curious which is definitely me and they challenge the way things have always been done. I really think that's the case. Like the developer skill - I like to make things better and I don't think things should stay the same. It also says that I have a 'natural sense of justice' which is definitely a hit. I'm a part of the women's network at my company to try and make things better for women (and everyone else). (Honestly, I wasn't that excited when I got 'quality controller' it doesn't sound nearly as exciting as an influencer but I think Quality Controller definitely fits me better than the other two.)"

"I'm a data science consultant. I use computer models & statistics to look through data to find specific patterns that can help us predict what might happen next and allow other companies to make better decisions with what I have found.I like that my job lets me do science - I get to learn stuff before anyone else knows about it! Uncovering patterns and discovering insights might be able to let companies know things that might be world-changing. Like who a new medicine might work best on, which stars might explode next, and even what new YouTuber to watch.Starting salaries for my job can be £30,000 in the UK for someone out of STEM degree and more if you have a PhD."

"Well, I did my GCSEs (I picked French, German, Drama and History) and then went for Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry for my A-Levels and I got A (maths) B (physics) C (chemistry) and D (critical thinking - whoops!). After that, I went to Lancaster University to do Physics with Particle Physics and Cosmology. Particle Physics is the study of really small stuff, smaller than atoms and how that all knits together and Cosmology is the study of the really big stuff - where did the universe come from, what's it made of, what does it look like on a really big scale? I really fell in love with cosmology, studying big questions is really exciting and decided to do more work in it (a master's degree from Queen Mary University in Astrophysics) and then I went for a PhD.PhDs are really difficult, big projects on things that you love. I really enjoyed mine but it was also really difficult. You get to share your work with other scientists at conferences where you're a world expert one thing (mine were some galaxies called NGC3783, H0557-385 and ESO323-G77, really good names, I know). The conferences can be in really interesting places like Chile or China (and I love travelling, but my bags always get lost or my planes get cancelled!).I became Dr. Boulderstone but decided I didn't want to stay in academia to become a university professor, I wanted to talk to people about science. And that's where I joined the UK Atomic Energy Authority to do outreach. This means that I got to go to all over the UK and talk about the UK Atomic Energy Authority. They do fusion which is the process that powers the sun and all the stars which releases lots of energy but no greenhouse gasses. Lots of governments all around the world are really excited about it as a way to power our homes and lives in the future.But in my job talking to people, I really missed doing statistics and computer programming and science so I decided to change job. So now I work in consultancy as a data scientist. This means that I get to talk to companies and find out what their problems are and then make solutions for those problems based on the patterns in their data.It's not a straightforward way of getting to my job, but that's the fun, you can try lots of things if you get a degree or do an apprenticeship in STEM or a STEM subject."

"I'm Bella Boulderstone, I'm 31 years old. I like Eurovision, burritos, Star Trek, learning Spanish (2258 day streak on Duolingo!), travelling to fun places. I like learning and meeting people, heavy metal and recently I've really enjoyed gardening (I have a bunch of house plants and a tiny garden which I adore). I also enjoy going to the gym and trying to lift heavy things - I think it's really fun to see yourself get better and better at things."

"My typical day I either can work from home or I get up to go into the office, I get to solve problems on the computer but I'm also involved in running our Women's Network as well. "

"AS Levels: A* (Further Maths)A Levels: ABCD (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Critical Thinking - in that order)2:1 Physics with Particle Physics and Cosmology - Lancaster UniversityMerit Astrophysics - Queen Mary University of LondonPhD Physics & Astronomy - The University of Southampton"