Life sciences

What are my options after finishing a Life Sciences degree?

This is a question that many students will have asked before selecting their University or may only be asking in their final few months. The following pages and links are for all Life Science students, whether they are unsure of which way to turn or already know which career path they want to follow but do not know the next step. After doing some research; if you are still unsure about what you want to do next then have a look at our 6 Step Careers Guide or come to see a careers advisor.

What do Brookes Science Graduates Do?

We asked some of them to tell you about their careers:

Rebecca Honour,
Degree: BSc Exercise and Health Science/Food Science and Nutrition
Physical Education Lecturer and Advanced Practitioner in Further Education, The Henley College 

Employment - your transferable skills

Employers love science graduates, no matter what your choice of Life Science degree. You have good analytical and problem-solving skills, and your ability to interpret data critically is a great asset. The practical aspects of your degree will have sharpened your attention to detail and your ability to accurately record results is of great use. Group or individual projects enable you to gain great communication skills, as well as producing good time management skills. All of these skills are useful in life but employers will be on the look out for them in any potential employees. To find out more visit our pages on ‘finding a job’ and ‘apply for a job’

To help you find potential employment options within your Life Science degree and transferable skill sets simply click your subject on the Options pages on Graduate Prospects.

To help you consider your skills, the Higher Education Academy has provided a guide to each subject, outlining the skills used throughout your degree subject. These documents can be quite detailed, but if you look for the skills sections they are fantastic for helping to identify the skills (rather than knowledge) acquired throughout your degree subject:

BiomedicalSciences

BilologicalSciences

Environment&EarthSciences

Key job opportunities directly relating to Life Science graduates can include: biomedical scientist, food technologist, forensic scientist, materials engineer, medical physicist, research scientist and product development scientist. There is also a wider range of jobs open to all graduates because employers will provide training and development as required. Examples include industrial buyer, retail buyer, production manager and quality assurance manager.

On Graduate Prospects you can see detailed information about a huge range of graduate jobs – here are some that may be directly linked to your subject:

Biological sciences

If you want to become a biochemical scientist then these sites have good insight into their practices, great links and helpful suggestions for careers in this industry.

http://www.acb.org.uk/site/clinscicareers.asp

http://www.ibms.org/index.cfm?method=education_and_careers.careers

A helpful website exploring careers in microbiology, click here.

Environmental sciences

Environmental Data Services - Provides environmental intelligence for professionals in Europe, including news, jobs, events and web site listing.

http://www.environmentpost.co.uk/

http://www.studentforce.org.uk/ - volunteering and graduate internships

Human sciences

http://www.nutritionsociety.org/index.asp - For students interested in a career in nutrition this site has good general information, career development and employment opportunities.

IFST - Institute of Food Science and Technology

English Institute of Sports Science

Alternative Science Careers

Science Communication   

Business and Technology Transfer      

Science and Leisure      

Others                                                        

What are the postgraduate options with my degree?

Postgraduate study is another option and many students take this route feeling that it will boost their employment prospects. This is not necessarily the case as you may already have sufficient skills and knowledge to get the job of your choice. In some circumstances a postgraduate qualification is a must, especially if you are considering an academic or research career. This is because it enables you to specialise in a particular field or topic.

Make sure you check out the information on this site about ‘Postgraduate Study’.

For specific information on postgraduate programmes at Brookes, click here.

If you are considering teaching, the TDA is a website with all the information you need.

And for more general advice from Prospects, click here.

A PhD student profile from the school of life science can be found here.

For specific details of postgraduate study in the life sciences at Oxford Brookes University, click here.

http://www.findaphd.com/ Searches different PhDs available within the UK for you and then links them to the Universities webpage.

HERO explores further studies and research, some useful links

Remember there are lots of professions that welcome graduates with degrees from other subjects e.g.:

Law, Social Work, Accountancy, Psychology, Teaching

Most of these professions will require you to do some kind of postgraduate conversion course or professional exams. This can be expensive but it is important to know that you these options are still available to you.

If you are interested in other jobs outside science browse these occupational profiles.

These sites explore the jobs that are available within your field:

http://www.newscientistjobs.com/splash.action

http://www.scitemps.co.uk/

http://www.totaljobs.com/IndustrySearch/Science.aspx