Career Path
Career Path
Find your way from science lessons to a cool science job
At some point you've probably asked yourself "why am I learning science?" There are loads of great reasons to pay more attention in science lessons. Here we give you a flavour of the kinds of jobs where you could be using that knowledge. Select one of the subjects to reveal more.
- Biology
As trained biologists who manage the natural resources in our forests, foresters help protect nature reserves and parks and make sure we don't run out of suitable trees for timber.
Knowing about plants and how to keep them healthy, as well as a flair for design, is important if you want to be a landscape gardener. You could work in a park or in a country estate.
We all need to see the doctor at one time or another. Whether you choose surgery, emergency medicine, or want to become a GP, when illness strikes, you will need to know how the body works if you are going to find out what's wrong and fix it.
Helping sportsmen and women get over injuries and maintain or improve their fitness levels is what this job is all about. Using your knowledge of the human body you'll be able to help athletes improve their performance.
How do headache tablets work? Why does caffeine wake you up? As a pharmacologist, you can find out. Combine your interests in biology and chemistry and investigate how drugs and chemicals interact with the human body and use this to help develop safer, more effective medicines.
Whether it's investigating how our brain works, developing a vaccine for measles, or devising new ways to detect illness, medical researchers are helping us to live longer, healthier lives. If you study Biology, you could be part of this and help tackle some of the many challenges that still remain such as increasing antibiotic resistance or devising new and improved cancer therapies.
Like a doctor, vets can specialise in areas of interest. Most vets fit into one of three categories: large animals, small animals and exotic animals. If you love animals then there are many paths to go down in the care of animals but paying attention in Biology is a must!
Zoo keepers are responsible for taking care of wild animals in zoos and animal parks. They make sure they are well-fed, active and interested in their surroundings. Many zoos are involved in breeding programmes as part of animal conservation. As a zoo keeper you'd also have the chance to talk to visitors about the animals and share your knowledge.
Climate change, declining fisheries and eroding coastlines are all issues currently being worked on by oceanographers. Oceanography covers a wide range of topics such as marine life and ecosystems, ocean circulation and the chemical and physical properties of the ocean. Biological oceanographers study plants and animals in the marine environment.
As well as maintaining open spaces such as parks, woodlands and urban green spaces, countryside rangers often visit schools, arrange walks and talks and run events. A love of the outdoors and good communication skills are important to be a countryside ranger.
- Chemistry
Once a fire has been put out it is the job of a fire investigator to determine whether it was an accident or an intentional fire. They must find where the fire started and look for evidence to determine the nature of the fire. Knowledge of chemicals and reaction rates would be essential to discover the source of the fire.
If you are interested in nutrition and healthy eating then this could be the career for you. Food scientists improve the quality of our food looking at vitamins, sugars, proteins and fats. With concerns over the environment food scientists also aim to develop more efficient ways to package and store food.
Interested in helping police solve crimes? As a forensic toxicologist, you will need to use your expertise to analyse evidence and determine if toxic substances are present in the body. Chemistry is essential for this job as you need to know how chemicals react, how to detect them and how they affect the body.
They are beautiful and exciting but there is a lot more to fireworks than the 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. Making fireworks involves knowing about flame colours and chemical properties and also knowing how to control reaction rates. Make an event go with a bang by designing the perfect firework!
You don't have to go to university for science to be relevant and useful. Understanding how chemicals react together and the colours they produce is very useful for a career in hairdressing and hair colouring in particular.
A career in environmental geo-science is very relevant particularly in today's climate. Looking into the impact that humans have had, and will have, on the Earth is a very important task. If you have an interest in the future of the planet then knowledge of ecosystems and chemistry will help you towards a career that is involved in pollution control and water quality.
Do you have big ideas about how to combat climate change? Geo-engineering is about making big changes to the Earth to reverse the damage people have already done. Combine your creativity with knowledge of chemical processes and work towards a solution to one of the largest problems we face today.
A knowledge of hazardous chemicals and handling materials combined with great organisational skills could help you to organise maximum re-use of material and minimise waste. Recycling is a very big way to combat pollution and the damage we are doing to the planet and you do not need a degree to play a role in helping this cause.
- Physics
Windmills, solar power and tidal power are all examples of innovations in renewable energy. If you like the sound of working on ideas that are eco-friendly and using creativity to further the use of renewable energy then this could be a great career choice for you.
The electrical circuits you learn about in class may help you become an electrician, devising services for homes and businesses.
Are you enjoying learning about forces and motion? Do you like solving a puzzle? Put physics knowledge to practical use to discover the causes of explosions and traffic accidents and then help to prevent accidents in the future.
To design compact and reliable equipment that can withstand the launch and the conditions in space you’ll need to know all about forces, materials and energy.
Use your knowledge of how light travels to become an astronomer. Learn to use optical and radio telescopes – who knows what you'll find?
Learn about sound and shock-waves, energy transfer and forces and look at the structure of the planet and you could be a seismologist. Not only could you study and explain earth tremors and quakes you could be involved in designing quake-resistant buildings or exploring possible locations of oil and minerals.
Few people understand just how much work goes into the sound at a concert. Use knowledge of sound waves to make sure a performance sounds as it should. In a studio sound engineers work on balancing and recording sound by operating sound decks.
- Sharing the Knowledge
Take your science know-how and pass it on to the next generation. You could work in a primary school, teaching a range of science topics, or in a secondary where you can specialise in your favourite science subject.
You'll need bags of enthusiasm and a keen sense of what makes a good show in this job. Festival organisers bring together people who put on workshops, debates, talks and shows about science and can deal with thousands of visitors.
Writing about the latest breakthroughs in science and technology is a lot easier if you already know something about the subject. Help make sure people get to read about new technology that affects their lives.
Working in a museum or science centre, it's your job to help people get the most out of their visit, by performing a science show or showing them what exhibits do.
