Three genuine reasons why I loved studying my biomedical science degree

While in the past I may have written many negative things about my experiences studying biomedical science, my general outlook on the degree has never been totally cynical!

Having been out of the degree for several years now, I have had some time to reflect on my biomedical science experiences.

This has led me to the conclusion that biomedical science may have greatly assisted me in my life goals beyond the usual decisions to get into medical school or become a biomedical scientist.

Here are 5 genuine reasons why I loved studying my biomedical science degree!

Biomedical science broadens postgraduate opportunities

I used to think that biomedical science would only be beneficial to me in the context of getting into medical school.

If that failed, I would simply train to become a biomedical scientist.

The problem was, I didn’t want to do either, and therefore felt like I was wasting my time!

This made me incredibly miserable since I was studying for a degree that was leading me into what I considered to be limited job opportunities that I didn’t even want to do!

I am however glad that I stuck it out to the end because the idea that biomedical science has “limited job opportunities” couldn’t be far from the truth.

I have written posts about opportunities after studying biomedical science but it goes beyond these!

Degrees

The biggest misconception about biomedical science I had was that it only positions you to study medicine after.

Firstly, this is incredibly silly since regardless of your first degree, you can pretty much study anything else you want if you have the right motivation.

Secondly, medicine is certainly not the only other field of study you can go into!

Biomedical science graduates may choose to study business, finance, statistics, pure mathematics, epidemiology, general public health, and healthcare sciences.

These can either be as separate undergraduate degrees or as accelerated master’s degrees, of which you may be able to get funding since it’s not a second undergraduate degree.

Most biomedical science graduates who want to study medicine feel as if it’s their only option which creates a lot of pressure! 

Part of the issue is that medicine is one of the only undergraduate degrees that you can get funding for when studying it as a second undergraduate degree.

This makes students feel like if they fail to get a place, as the majority of students do, it’s the end of the world!

Wrong! It’s the start of something new! You just have to be bold enough to pursue what is truly right for you.

Find out more about life after biomedical science through our course!

Jobs

Again, students often get confused as to what job roles are available after a biomedical science degree.

Just because it’s in the name doesn’t mean becoming a biomedical scientist is all that you should aim for. 

In fact, while a majority of students might look to enter such a job role as a backup plan after graduating, a minority of students tend to see this through.

The biomedical scientist scene is almost as competitive as studying medicine, and often there aren’t enough training spots to match the demand.

Instead, you can either pursue roles that directly link to postgraduate study or utilise your transferable skills.

Biomedical science graduates often forget the wide array of skills gained during the course. 

Almost everyone who graduates is capable of either getting a research role, applying for a PhD with funding or even changing fields entirely.

Skills such as PCR, ELISA, blotting, protein assays etc. are invaluable to senior researchers, and therefore you could definitely get paid work as an assistant researcher in any institution, directly after or even during your studies.

This bypasses the problem of having to become a biomedical scientist and gaining additional certification and portfolio completion.

Graduates also have skills in maths, problem-solving, data entry, statistics, and even reading research papers!

You’ll be surprised how valuable your skills are beyond just becoming a biomedical scientist!

Biomedical science gives practical learning experiences

The biggest thing I gained from my biomedical science degree was the ability to perform several practical and useful procedures with proficiency and understanding.

Most degrees are entirely focused on the theory of things and rote memorisation. 

While this is partly the case for biomedical science, there is also a significant practical component in most Biomed curriculums.

Lab practicals

Lab practicals personal taught me so much about science and conducting research. 

Biomedical science practicals are a step up from high school class, and often requires lots of practice.

Things we learnt included cell enumeration under a microscope, digital cell counting, growing cells under media, conducting protein assays, protein staining, isolating genetic material for analysis, and several genetic fingerprinting techniques.

On their own, this seems like a random smattering of techniques, however, it was necessary to learn these competencies before graduation.

My university specifically had an exam at the end of year 2 to test all these competencies before progressing to the next and final year.

These skills not only made me competent as a biomedical scientist but also to pursue research, forensics, pathology, public health surveillance, haematological analysis and so much more!

For this, I am forever grateful to biomedical science for opening up so many doors.

Dissertation

My dissertation was another point where I gained several practical skills.

This included writing. Most people know how to write, however, academic writing can be challenging, and often tricker than regular writing.

I learnt how to set out a piece of research work, how to format everything so it is very readable, and most importantly how to give credit in the form of proper referencing technique.

I also learnt a range of analytical techniques from statistics including which statistical test to use when determining statistical significance between different groups. 

This has made me a well-rounded student with the potential to work in data analytics and health statistics.

Research

I had the opportunity to conduct a participant study during my time at university!

The work I did with my supervisor is now looking to be published. 

This is something that very few other degrees can offer to their students.

For this, I am very happy to have studied biomedical science and met my research supervisor!

Biomedical science teaches resilience 

This may sound a bit silly since mos university courses require some level of resiliency and hard work to complete.

Biomedical science can often be underestimated in its difficulty and ability to push students over the edge into quitting.

Most people either see biomedical science as an easy alternative to medicine or as an easy degree in general. 

This however isn’t the case.

Biomedical science essentially is its own discipline within health sciences, and as such requires significant dedication and focus to even complete, let alone do well in.

Biomedical science is a hard degree, and the sad part is students who underestimate its difficulty will end up either dropping out, repeating a year, or doing extremely poorly in the end.

In all these scenarios, the degree will have definitely been a waste of time. 

You should only study biomedical science if you are willing to put your heart into it and get the best result possible.

It’s ok to study biomedical science if you don’t fully know what you want to do in the future. 

It’s however not ok if you aren’t willing to be resilient and see your studies to the end.

You will end up wasting your own time, and you’ll have the perception that it’s a useless degree, when in fact, it is incredibly useful when studied properly. 

Let me know what you think about biomedical science, my experiences with the degree, and whether you will study it in the future!

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