Finished my degree but I have no clue what I want to do with my life

SongBird2020

I have just graduated with a 1st class degree in Biomedical Science but it's from a terrible uni and unfortunately I didn't manage to gain any experience in my field over the past 3 years. I am aware that this is simply a recipe for disaster because I should have been getting experience during my degree but I simply didn't know what I wanted to do. Also the Covid Pandemic did not help at all as I had a placement in an NHS lab organised after my 2nd year, however it got cancelled at the last minute. I first started to apply to band 2 MLA positions if I wanted to work in a lab in the future but my applications are getting rejected because I don't have any experience. Then I thought about doing a masters in physican associate but once again this is too competitive and I don't have any healthcare experience. I have tried to apply to HCA positions but once again the essential requirements is to have healthcare experience which I do not have. So at the moment ,I'm going nowhere. I do have transferable skills from a retail job which I worked for a few months during uni and I have really tried to emphasise the skills that I have learnt from that job in my CV but once again it's simply not enough.... I have also not managed to make any real friends during Uni since the majority of it was online so I really need some support and guidance and someone to talk to because I am seriously lost....

Reply 1

Dnsnnssn

Firstly congratulations.

Secondly ur post reads very negatively for someone who just had a great achievement, you need to change that quick, or you will become rather depressed.
First think I would ask myself in ur situation is what career path would I enjoy, and what aspects of my degree did I enjoy? If you enjoyed working in labs then try searching for private labs and send out speculative letters with CVs. For example join linkedin and set up job alerts for lab technician and lab assistant roles and apply directly to companies even if they are not currently advertising. Getting such a role is tough for anyone not just those who want their first lab job.

You say you haven't got any experience but you must of spent some time in the lab during your degree, and perhaps for ur diss?
U need to advertise the skills you have gained during ur Degree in ur cover letters, e.g. centrifuges, pipettes, lab equipment etc. And keep applying eventually u will land a few interviews and get a lab role, especially since u have a first class degree in biomed. Good luck.

Reply 2

nousernameplease

It's all ok, this is a scary transition period. As a fellow 2022 biomedical science graduate who is job searching, hopefully you can feel less alone.
I think the first thing to do is find an immediate job to give yourself something to keep you busy, give you more transferrable skills and a more recent thing to put on your CV. Think supermarkets, restaurants, pubs, care homes.
Next, do you want to work in lab, or in an office or teaching? This is just to help give you some search criteria for jobs. Remember your first science job doesn't have to be your career job, it's just getting your foot in the door. Do you even want to stay in the science field, or does doing a graduate scheme to train for example in human resources appeal?
Use your careers service! Use their search engine, see if they have any job postings as they can be specific to your uni and so there is generally less competition. Talks to a careers adviser for more specific advice and run your CV and cover letter that you've personalised for each job last them.
Any job or volunteering can be used as an example of transferrable skills, and the more recent the better. This is why getting onto some job or volunteering right now is crucial.
I'd say just don't do a master's because you're unsure of what to do next, as you'll most likely just be in the same position a year or two from now.
Prospects website has a page on what you can go into with our degree, so you might want to give that a read.
You can't change what you did or didn't do in the past, but you can get the ball rolling right now to put yourself in the best position possible.
You've got this!

Reply 3

University of Huddersfield Student Rep

Official Rep

Hi @SongBird2020,

Firstly, congratulations on getting a first! That's no easy task so you should be really proud of yourself.

How you're feeling is completely understandable, and I'm sure you're not the only one who has left uni feeling a little lost. It seems like the lack of industry experience is the biggest obstacle right now. It might be worth speaking to your tutors directly and seeing if they have any advice, or if there's any opportunity for you to do some kind of summer internship or something along those lines at your university so that you can build up your experience. It's also worth going to your university career's advice service and see what support they can offer.

I'd be lying if I said I knew anything about your field of study, but is it possible that you could broaden your search in terms of roles and the type of roles you're looking at? Is it possible to join an agency that does contract work with labs etc? Another avenue you could try is LinkedIn. You could explain that you've graduated with a First-class degree and you're looking to get some experience working in a lab or whatever the case may be and see if that works. Sometimes in these situations, building a genuine network or tapping in to the network you already have can really help you find opportunities.

I think most importantly, don't give up hope!

All the best☺️
- Rebecca, 3rd Year Psychology Student

Reply 4

SongBird2020

Original post by nousernameplease

Thank you for your advice, may I ask what do you plan on doing with your degree?

Reply 5

tinyperson

I’m going to pass on some helpful advice and handy tips. When I started studying at vocational college I took a whole year to figure out my next options career wise. In that time I worked hard on my own resume, read some free but recommended interview books, talked to a career advisor who was based at the college and eventually found myself part time work. Try doing the same for once. Read some job descriptions in question, make brief summary notes and be positive and remain patient. Good luck. Focus wholly on your own skills and then take it from there.

Reply 6

nousernameplease

Original post by SongBird2020

Thank you for your advice, may I ask what do you plan on doing with your degree?

Hey! I've applied for entry-level medical writer jobs with an interview in a couple of weeks. Medical communications is like a bridge between the pharmaceutical industry and clinicians and the public and so med writing really stood out to me (realised that while I liked the idea of working in a lab I'm just not good with the technical problem-solving details you need as a technician, but I didn't want to go into sales and have little interest in returning for a master's or PhD any time soon).
If you want more info on medical communications search first medcomms jobs in Google and there's a whole website dedicated to it.
But don't give up on and NHS BMS if that's what your heart is set on!

Reply 7

nousernameplease

Original post by SongBird2020

Hi! I've stumbled back on here and noticed it's almost been a year. Did you have any success? There are lots of people in a similar situation graduating now, so I'm sure people would appreciate your story!