Biomedical Science Jobs

I have just graduated (2023) in Biomedical Science with a 2:1 and I'm so lost. I dont want to continue my studies. What jobs can I apply for with Biomedical Science degree?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by naura_x30

I have just graduated (2023) in Biomedical Science with a 2:1 and I'm so lost. I dont want to continue my studies. What jobs can I apply for with Biomedical Science degree?

Most jobs in life sciences generally require a specific degree, and with a biomed science degree, you can usually pivot to another discipline in life sciences or healthcare with minimal issues e.g. psychology, dietician. physoptherapy, environmental science/ecology, etc.
Then you have the usual 3 choices specific to your degree: go into the subject of your degree (i.e. become a biomedical scientist), go into teaching, or become an academic/researcher, of course with some areas usually requiring further studies and advanced degrees.

If you want to venture out from life sciences, there is usually a plethora of sectors that accept degrees in any subjects:

•

Administration

•

Government services

•

Social work

•

Some areas of healthcare

•

Most areas of business (HR, marketing, accounting, sales)

•

IT roles

•

Some areas of construction

•

Most areas of property

•

Most areas of beauty and wellbeing

•

Creative/design and media (if you're good)

•

Theatre and film (if you're good)

•

Music (if you're good)

•

Anything related to writing (if you're good)

•

Storage

•

Logisitics

•

Armed forces and police force (if you pass certain tests, have a clean record, and are of a certain age range)

•

Some environmental services

•

Hospitality

•

Manufacturing

•

Management (if you have the relevant experience)

•

Retail

•

Care work

•

Travel and tourism

•

Charity

•

Entertainment (if you're good)

•

Translation (if you are fluent in more than one language)

•

Various areas in agriculture

The above list is true because you generally don't need degrees to get into them.

You can also go into the following areas with specific professional qualifications (irrespective of what previous qualifications you have):

•

Accounting

•

Actuary (if you have a math background e.g. A Level Maths)

•

Law (solicitor)

•

Most areas of finance

•

Delivery and transport (licences)

•

Sports coaching

If you want to do a postgrad in another discipline outside of life sciences for any reason (usually to become an academic in the new disicpline), then you can do:

•

Computer science (some degrees)

•

Anything in business (except for finance) e.g. marketing, accounting. You cannot do a business management degree if you have done it at undergrad

•

Anthropology

•

Nursing

•

Some criminology degrees

•

Nonquantiative economics degrees

•

Some film degrees

•

Hospitality

•

Some media degrees

•

Some journalism degrees

•

Education

•

Linguistics

•

Social work

•

Some politics degrees

•

Some agriculture degrees

•

Some fine art degrees

•

Some degrees in human geography and development studies

Do note, you will need a nursing degree in order to become a nurse, and you would be eligible for the MSc in Nursing should you wish to apply.

If you want to go into specific areas of research not listed above, you would need to look into doing a conversion course prior to enrolling into the respective master's degree. These subjects include:

•

Economics (for quantitative degrees)

•

Law

•

Psychology

•

Computer science (if you want to look into advanced computer science)

Of course, you can also become a philosopher if you have read enough books. You can also choose to start a relatively simple business (simple as in something that doesn't involve heavy regulations e.g. not pharmaceuticals, engineering, law, accounting, construction) with just what you have.

Reply 2

naura_x30

Thank you so much for your reply, this was quite helpful.

I have one more question, in the list "If you want to venture out from life sciences", (which I do), although they may not require qualification but they do ask for previous experience and unfortunately I have not done enough work experience :frown:

, I have been applying for some of the jobs you have listed however I haven't got any response yet. What do you recommend for someone who doesn't have much work experience.

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by naura_x30

, I have been applying for some of the jobs you have listed however I haven't got any response yet. What do you recommend for someone who doesn't have much work experience.

It's one of those connumdrums unfortunately - you need experience to get a job, but they won't give you a job to get experience.

It would generally depend on the specific area that you want to go into, but you can generally apply for internships (even if you have graduated) to get said experience. A 2 week work experience is generally not going to do much; you generally need something between 3 months and 1 year. The experience would need to be relevant and related to what you want to apply for. For example, there's no point in doing an internship in sales and marketing when you want a job in IT.
Do note, just because it says it's an entry level job, it doesn't mean that it's for people with zero experience; they can ask you for a year's experience.

If it's a type of job where you can build a portfolio to show off with, then you would want to have a portfolio built up. It's not just for design, architecture, or something creative. This can also be for IT.
People say that you should go into volunteering to get experience, but unless it's at an organisation that is closely related to what you want to apply for, then all that would do is to give you an extra character reference as far as I know. Working as a bookkeeper at a charity for instance, in my experience, would not make you eligible to work in an accounting practice.

If you intend to work in an industry where there is a requirement to have a speciifc qualification, then it's recommended that you would at least sign up for the qualification so you would at least show you have it on your CV. This applies to various industries such as construction, finance, care, IT. It shows that you have at least done the minimum homework for the role and it would make you stand out like a sore thumb against every other graduate who has nothing but just their degrees and irrelevant part time jobs.
Where the industry doesn't require you to have a qualification to do the job, the professional qualification would generally help make you stand out so long the qualification is one that's credible in the industry e.g. HR, marketing.

The other thing that's strongly recommended is to network like crazy. Networking would probably get you a lot further than a straightforward application. With job applications, you would generally have to stand out a lot more (and not with using silly fonts and formatting on your CV), and that's generally not easy to do especially if the industry is very conservative or bureaucratic and receives CVs by their truckloads.

Do you have a specific preference for the type of work or industry that you want to go into? If you don't intend to work in healthcare or life science, your degree is not going to mean much (just to show that you have some intelligence at best or you're eligible to apply for work that requires a degree in any subject).