Mature Student Career Change from Business to Physiotherapy
Hi there,
I'm a 27 year old Business Management graduate (graduated in 2016) from Plymouth Uni. For the last 4 to 5 years I've been working within admin/financial services and I feel like now is the right time to make a change (I'm boreddd). I've been speaking to friends and family who work within healthcare/Physio and have decided I want to make the career change into Physiotherapy. It's the direction I would of gone down at 18/19 if my A-levels were conducive! But now I really want to put the effort in. For some background I have Sciences upto grade C at GCSE and no additonal relevant experience. I've been looking into Physiotherapy Pre-reg courses and the only Uni (UCLAN) from the conversations I've had would potentially offer me a place without a relevant degree or 'extensive experience'. I'm still waiting to hear back from the course leader in regards to what exactly would be required of me. I'm just wondering if anyone has made a similar transition from corporate to Physio and gone through the pre-reg degree process with an un-related background? I don't want to plow 6-9 months into W/E to then not be offered a place to start in 2021.. So I'm keen to establish exactly what is required of me in order to get onto the course.
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
Fabian
I'm a 27 year old Business Management graduate (graduated in 2016) from Plymouth Uni. For the last 4 to 5 years I've been working within admin/financial services and I feel like now is the right time to make a change (I'm boreddd). I've been speaking to friends and family who work within healthcare/Physio and have decided I want to make the career change into Physiotherapy. It's the direction I would of gone down at 18/19 if my A-levels were conducive! But now I really want to put the effort in. For some background I have Sciences upto grade C at GCSE and no additonal relevant experience. I've been looking into Physiotherapy Pre-reg courses and the only Uni (UCLAN) from the conversations I've had would potentially offer me a place without a relevant degree or 'extensive experience'. I'm still waiting to hear back from the course leader in regards to what exactly would be required of me. I'm just wondering if anyone has made a similar transition from corporate to Physio and gone through the pre-reg degree process with an un-related background? I don't want to plow 6-9 months into W/E to then not be offered a place to start in 2021.. So I'm keen to establish exactly what is required of me in order to get onto the course.
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
Fabian
Hi Fabian,
I'm also 27 and moving from a completely unrelated background into physiotherapy. Most of the pre-reg MSc courses I looked at seemed to be geared towards people with science/biology related degrees (like biomedical science or anatomy etc). The content of a MSc Physiotherapy course is very similar to a BSc Physiotherapy course, but condensed into 2 years instead of 3, as they assume you already have a good amount of related scientific knowledge. As my last science study was GCSEs, I was advised to look at BSc courses opposed to MSc courses. As my GCSE's were over 10 years ago (and I had no science A-levels), I have gone down the route of completing an Access to HE Diploma in Science (equivalent of 3 A levels and all online remote learning), this has given me the entry requirements to start studying a BSc in Physiotherapy this September.
Obviously it's your choice, but I would recommend looking at a similar pathway for two main reasons:
1. It's unlikely you'll get onto a MSc Physiotherapy with no related experience/no related Bachelor's degree. If you had studied an unrelated degree but spend 5 year working in a hospital as a HCA of Physio Assistant, maybe, but as MSc Physiotherapy is a competitive degree to get a place on, I think it sounds unlikely.
2. Even if you did get onto a MSc Physiotherapy, the course assumes its student already have a sound understanding of basic scientific principles/anatomy/physiology from their previous degree/experience. As the course is basically a 3 year degree crammed into 2 years, it's super intense and there'd probably be little opportunity to catch up and go over things you may need to brush up on. I would be nervous about doing a MSc and falling behind.
With that in mind, it may be worth considering BSc. Sure, it'll take an extra year (maybe more if you need to do an Access to HE diploma), but that's pretty minuscule compared to an entire career of doing something you love. You'll be able to get a student loan for a BSc Physiotherapy even though you already have a bachelors as it's an exceptions degree, so they'll always fund it regardless. Plus there's the £5000 a year NHS bursary towards your tuition fees.
I hope that's helpful?
I'm also 27 and moving from a completely unrelated background into physiotherapy. Most of the pre-reg MSc courses I looked at seemed to be geared towards people with science/biology related degrees (like biomedical science or anatomy etc). The content of a MSc Physiotherapy course is very similar to a BSc Physiotherapy course, but condensed into 2 years instead of 3, as they assume you already have a good amount of related scientific knowledge. As my last science study was GCSEs, I was advised to look at BSc courses opposed to MSc courses. As my GCSE's were over 10 years ago (and I had no science A-levels), I have gone down the route of completing an Access to HE Diploma in Science (equivalent of 3 A levels and all online remote learning), this has given me the entry requirements to start studying a BSc in Physiotherapy this September.
Obviously it's your choice, but I would recommend looking at a similar pathway for two main reasons:
1. It's unlikely you'll get onto a MSc Physiotherapy with no related experience/no related Bachelor's degree. If you had studied an unrelated degree but spend 5 year working in a hospital as a HCA of Physio Assistant, maybe, but as MSc Physiotherapy is a competitive degree to get a place on, I think it sounds unlikely.
2. Even if you did get onto a MSc Physiotherapy, the course assumes its student already have a sound understanding of basic scientific principles/anatomy/physiology from their previous degree/experience. As the course is basically a 3 year degree crammed into 2 years, it's super intense and there'd probably be little opportunity to catch up and go over things you may need to brush up on. I would be nervous about doing a MSc and falling behind.
With that in mind, it may be worth considering BSc. Sure, it'll take an extra year (maybe more if you need to do an Access to HE diploma), but that's pretty minuscule compared to an entire career of doing something you love. You'll be able to get a student loan for a BSc Physiotherapy even though you already have a bachelors as it's an exceptions degree, so they'll always fund it regardless. Plus there's the £5000 a year NHS bursary towards your tuition fees.
I hope that's helpful?
Hiya Fabian,
I think without any significant science background, you would likely struggle going straight into it to be honest, even if somewhere would take you this year. I would highly recommend studying an Acess to HE diploma in Science, Health Science or Health Professions to ensure you have enough biology content. I know this adds an extra year to your goal, but one extra year is going to be nothing in the long run, and this way you'd find yourself with so many more options. As suggested in the other reply, I'd also consider the BSc (post Access course) as this will give you more options, and it is also less competitive than the MSc pre-reg, meaning you'd be more likely to get a place.
Best of luck!
I think without any significant science background, you would likely struggle going straight into it to be honest, even if somewhere would take you this year. I would highly recommend studying an Acess to HE diploma in Science, Health Science or Health Professions to ensure you have enough biology content. I know this adds an extra year to your goal, but one extra year is going to be nothing in the long run, and this way you'd find yourself with so many more options. As suggested in the other reply, I'd also consider the BSc (post Access course) as this will give you more options, and it is also less competitive than the MSc pre-reg, meaning you'd be more likely to get a place.
Best of luck!
Hello, did you end up doing physiotherapy in the end? How are you finding the course?
Thanks
Thanks
Original post by Tom.Nook
Hi Fabian,
I'm also 27 and moving from a completely unrelated background into physiotherapy. Most of the pre-reg MSc courses I looked at seemed to be geared towards people with science/biology related degrees (like biomedical science or anatomy etc). The content of a MSc Physiotherapy course is very similar to a BSc Physiotherapy course, but condensed into 2 years instead of 3, as they assume you already have a good amount of related scientific knowledge. As my last science study was GCSEs, I was advised to look at BSc courses opposed to MSc courses. As my GCSE's were over 10 years ago (and I had no science A-levels), I have gone down the route of completing an Access to HE Diploma in Science (equivalent of 3 A levels and all online remote learning), this has given me the entry requirements to start studying a BSc in Physiotherapy this September.
Obviously it's your choice, but I would recommend looking at a similar pathway for two main reasons:
1. It's unlikely you'll get onto a MSc Physiotherapy with no related experience/no related Bachelor's degree. If you had studied an unrelated degree but spend 5 year working in a hospital as a HCA of Physio Assistant, maybe, but as MSc Physiotherapy is a competitive degree to get a place on, I think it sounds unlikely.
2. Even if you did get onto a MSc Physiotherapy, the course assumes its student already have a sound understanding of basic scientific principles/anatomy/physiology from their previous degree/experience. As the course is basically a 3 year degree crammed into 2 years, it's super intense and there'd probably be little opportunity to catch up and go over things you may need to brush up on. I would be nervous about doing a MSc and falling behind.
With that in mind, it may be worth considering BSc. Sure, it'll take an extra year (maybe more if you need to do an Access to HE diploma), but that's pretty minuscule compared to an entire career of doing something you love. You'll be able to get a student loan for a BSc Physiotherapy even though you already have a bachelors as it's an exceptions degree, so they'll always fund it regardless. Plus there's the £5000 a year NHS bursary towards your tuition fees.
I hope that's helpful?
I'm also 27 and moving from a completely unrelated background into physiotherapy. Most of the pre-reg MSc courses I looked at seemed to be geared towards people with science/biology related degrees (like biomedical science or anatomy etc). The content of a MSc Physiotherapy course is very similar to a BSc Physiotherapy course, but condensed into 2 years instead of 3, as they assume you already have a good amount of related scientific knowledge. As my last science study was GCSEs, I was advised to look at BSc courses opposed to MSc courses. As my GCSE's were over 10 years ago (and I had no science A-levels), I have gone down the route of completing an Access to HE Diploma in Science (equivalent of 3 A levels and all online remote learning), this has given me the entry requirements to start studying a BSc in Physiotherapy this September.
Obviously it's your choice, but I would recommend looking at a similar pathway for two main reasons:
1. It's unlikely you'll get onto a MSc Physiotherapy with no related experience/no related Bachelor's degree. If you had studied an unrelated degree but spend 5 year working in a hospital as a HCA of Physio Assistant, maybe, but as MSc Physiotherapy is a competitive degree to get a place on, I think it sounds unlikely.
2. Even if you did get onto a MSc Physiotherapy, the course assumes its student already have a sound understanding of basic scientific principles/anatomy/physiology from their previous degree/experience. As the course is basically a 3 year degree crammed into 2 years, it's super intense and there'd probably be little opportunity to catch up and go over things you may need to brush up on. I would be nervous about doing a MSc and falling behind.
With that in mind, it may be worth considering BSc. Sure, it'll take an extra year (maybe more if you need to do an Access to HE diploma), but that's pretty minuscule compared to an entire career of doing something you love. You'll be able to get a student loan for a BSc Physiotherapy even though you already have a bachelors as it's an exceptions degree, so they'll always fund it regardless. Plus there's the £5000 a year NHS bursary towards your tuition fees.
I hope that's helpful?
Hi Tom - I just wanted to ask who you did your access course with, and how you're enjoying the physio degree? I'm considering applying to a BSc programme as a mature student...
Thanks.
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