Life after getting a biomedical science degree?

Pine3278

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After finishing uni what are you doing better now? Further education or employment?
How hard is it too find a job and are there any extra qualifications you gained or have to gain?
I want to do biomedical science at uni but I'm not sure if this is a good choice or not. I don't want to end up unemployed with a useless degree.
any replies are appreciated

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alleycat393

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It depends on what you want to do. You can get a job in something science related or something completely different because of your transferable skills. For a job in research you want to do at least a masters degree if not a PhD.

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Bagsworth

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(Original post by Pine3278)
After finishing uni what are you doing better now? Further education or employment?
How hard is it too find a job and are there any extra qualifications you gained or have to gain?
I want to do biomedical science at uni but I'm not sure if this is a good choice or not. I don't want to end up unemployed with a useless degree.
any replies are appreciated

I did a 4-year degree with a placement year in a Biochemistry department of a hospital. As a result I can register as biomedical scientist on the HCPC and work in the NHS and elsewhere but I chose to progress onto a PhD.
In order to work as a biomedical scientist you should try to do the year placement as part of your degree as the year's training is very hard to get in a hospital once you leave as hospitals don't have the funding.
The degree itself is very good and depending on where you do it, you could share lectures and modules with medics as there is a lot of crossover.
The degree usually also generally has a lot of lab time to get you used to working in that environment, which is a bonus if you want to go into research. It's by no means a useless degree. The majority of people I work with in my PhD have a BMS degree.
One thing to note though is through the huge restructuring of the NHS going into being a biomedical scientist may not be the most suitable thing nowadays, especially if this is three years plus down the line as biomedical scientist jobs are being reduced, both in size and autonomy and you might not be entirely happy with a shiny new degree but being essentially a technician who puts things on a machine and takes them off again with little to no interpretation or thought.
a BMS degree does, however entitle you to apply to the NHS STP in the Life Sciences, which covers all the biomedical science disciplines (biochemistry, haematology, histology and microbiology) and a clinical scientist is a much more scientific job that involves interpretation, talking to doctors about results, researching methods and lab/resource management.
There are plenty of jobs you can apply to, but it's just more competitive in this climate. BMS is like the English of science degrees that prepares you for a range of careers - you do biology, chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, drug design, disease mechanisms and therapeutics, statistics, epidemiology, on top of the four life science things above. It's pretty good really but you do have to be an all-rounder as well.

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kokafor92

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(Original post by Pine3278)
After finishing uni what are you doing better now? Further education or employment?
How hard is it too find a job and are there any extra qualifications you gained or have to gain?
I want to do biomedical science at uni but I'm not sure if this is a good choice or not. I don't want to end up unemployed with a useless degree.
any replies are appreciated

Career prospects include:

• Speech and language specialist. Speech therapist
• Public health
• orthopist
• Physiotherapy
• Clinical psychology
• Clinical pharmacy
• Physician Associate
• Clinical scientist: audiologist, respiratory physiologist, clinical cardiac physiologist

also check out this site: https://biosciencecareers.wordpress.com

hope this helps someone.

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King of the Ring

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I wouldn't do Biomedical Sciences, the career prospects are going to be very poor in the future. Perhaps Biochemistry, Biology or Physiology would be a better bet.

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alleycat393

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(Original post by King of the Ring)
I wouldn't do Biomedical Sciences, the career prospects are going to be very poor in the future. Perhaps Biochemistry, Biology or Physiology would be a better bet.

They all have lots of common modules but slightly different focuses (broad or narrow) on different aspects of biology so 'career prospects' are generally very similar.

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Bagsworth

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(Original post by alleycat393)
They all have lots of common modules but slightly different focuses (broad or narrow) on different aspects of biology so 'career prospects' are generally very similar.

I agree with alleycat. I did Biomedical Sciences and had no problem with the next step. The majority of science subjects have the same prospects, but occasionally you will see a job advertised that says applicants should have a sound understanding of chemistry relating to life or knowledge of particular techniques. This is where particular degrees may help over biomedical science but not always.

Where I do agree that biomed shares modules with other degrees (sometimes substantially); biology; biochemistry etc, most interviewers only really have the degree to go on. No one has ever asked me for my transcript to see what modules I took.

The misunderstanding is that people who take biomedical science want to just become biomedical scientists and sometimes those that actually DO want to be biomedical scientists don't realise the degree is only the first part of becoming one - hence why people say it has poor career prospects because they feel cheated. If you want to practise as a biomedical scientist make sure you are doing a degree with a placement year so you can obtain your certificate of competence as well. In London I have seen just a single trainee biomedical scientist post this year so if you don't have the certificate to register as a BMS with the HCPC then that door is closed to you until you do.
A biomedical scientist is actually a very important job that needs regulation so you can't just walk out of a 3 year degree and become one.

If you do biomedical science but have no ambition to be a biomedical scientist then this degree does not have better or worse career prospects for the various jobs listed above in another post. I hope that clarifies.

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nisha.sri

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(Original post by Bagsworth)
I agree with alleycat. I did Biomedical Sciences and had no problem with the next step. The majority of science subjects have the same prospects, but occasionally you will see a job advertised that says applicants should have a sound understanding of chemistry relating to life or knowledge of particular techniques. This is where particular degrees may help over biomedical science but not always.

Where I do agree that biomed shares modules with other degrees (sometimes substantially); biology; biochemistry etc, most interviewers only really have the degree to go on. No one has ever asked me for my transcript to see what modules I took.

The misunderstanding is that people who take biomedical science want to just become biomedical scientists and sometimes those that actually DO want to be biomedical scientists don't realise the degree is only the first part of becoming one - hence why people say it has poor career prospects because they feel cheated. If you want to practise as a biomedical scientist make sure you are doing a degree with a placement year so you can obtain your certificate of competence as well.In London I have seen just a single trainee biomedical scientist post this year so if you don't have the certificate to register as a BMS with the HCPC then that door is closed to you until you do.
A biomedical scientist is actually a very important job that needs regulation so you can't just walk out of a 3 year degree and become one.

If you do biomedical science but have no ambition to be a biomedical scientist then this degree does not have better or worse career prospects for the various jobs listed above in another post. I hope that clarifies.

Where do you work now ? Also what do you work as ?

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Cherub123

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(Original post by Bagsworth)

If you do biomedical science but have no ambition to be a biomedical scientist then this degree does not have better or worse career prospects for the various jobs listed above in another post. I hope that clarifies.

Can you just clarify what this means? Or word it in a different way so I can understand it better? haha, just confusing myself

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general123

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(Original post by Cherub123)
Can you just clarify what this means? Or word it in a different way so I can understand it better? haha, just confusing myself

Yep didnt understand that part as well.

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general123

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I've read that its possible to go into finance, accountancy, law, marketing etc with a biomed degree? Is this true and how so?

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cheesecakelove

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(Original post by general123)
I've read that its possible to go into finance, accountancy, law, marketing etc with a biomed degree? Is this true and how so?

Look for accountancy and finance grad schemes. If they hire you, you will be trained and do assignments to get qualified, whilst at the same time working. If you are looking to gointo law, you will need to do a conversion course. Look for work experience and training contracts too.

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general123

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What sort of non lab based jobs are there once you've completed a degree in BMS?

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pilupilu

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(Original post by general123)
What sort of non lab based jobs are there once you've completed a degree in BMS?

(Original post by Bagsworth)
I agree with alleycat. I did Biomedical Sciences and had no problem with the next step. The majority of science subjects have the same prospects, but occasionally you will see a job advertised that says applicants should have a sound understanding of chemistry relating to life or knowledge of particular techniques. This is where particular degrees may help over biomedical science but not always.

Where I do agree that biomed shares modules with other degrees (sometimes substantially); biology; biochemistry etc, most interviewers only really have the degree to go on. No one has ever asked me for my transcript to see what modules I took.

The misunderstanding is that people who take biomedical science want to just become biomedical scientists and sometimes those that actually DO want to be biomedical scientists don't realise the degree is only the first part of becoming one - hence why people say it has poor career prospects because they feel cheated. If you want to practise as a biomedical scientist make sure you are doing a degree with a placement year so you can obtain your certificate of competence as well.In London I have seen just a single trainee biomedical scientist post this year so if you don't have the certificate to register as a BMS with the HCPC then that door is closed to you until you do.
A biomedical scientist is actually a very important job that needs regulation so you can't just walk out of a 3 year degree and become one.

If you do biomedical science but have no ambition to be a biomedical scientist then this degree does not have better or worse career prospects for the various jobs listed above in another post. I hope that clarifies.

Yoy said it is important where you studied the degree. What do you think about Napier Uni?

Thank you for your help

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pilupilu

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One more thing. Do you think it is a hard degree?, did you study a lot or is more practical job?
I appologize for my English.
Thank you very much for your help

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sholasa

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I am third year doing biomedical science,Honestly it depends on the university.From my experience at doing biomedical science at De montfort university my first year wasn't as hard and second year wasn't too but my last and final year was harder.Also,during my study you will have like summaries lectures and try study so you understand lectures so you do well in exams.Also, the practicals are good I guess.

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sholasa

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(Original post by pilupilu)
Yoy said it is important where you studied the degree. What do you think about Napier Uni?

Thank you for your help

Also you should make sure the course at the university is accredited so that you can just the BMS profilio without doing top up modules

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GinaTheWolf11

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(Original post by Bagsworth)
If you want to practise as a biomedical scientist make sure you are doing a degree with a placement year so you can obtain your certificate of competence as well.

Could you do a course that isn't accredited by IBMS and do a lab placement and still work in the NHS as a biomedical scientist? Or do you have to do an IBMS course?

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