Physiology: Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Biomedical scientist - carries out laboratory tests on human samples to help clinicians diagnose illness and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
• Clinical research associate - sets up, monitors and completes clinical trials of a medicinal product.
• Audiological scientist - applies scientific principles to assess, diagnose and manage patients who have hearing, balance and tinnitus problems.
• Physiological scientist - examines the functioning of vital organs, such as the heart, lungs and brain, and body systems in order to diagnose abnormalities and disease.
• Research scientist (medical) - plans and conducts experiments to increase the body of scientific knowledge on topics related to medicine. May also aim to develop new, or improve existing, drugs or other medically related products.
• Exercise physiologist - investigates the responses and adaptations to muscular activity in humans or animals and uses this knowledge to improve human performance.
• Speech and language therapist - works closely with infants, children and adults who have various levels of speech, language and communication problems. Also works with people who have swallowing difficulties.
• Pharmacologist - investigates how potential medicines interact with biological systems, undertaking in vitro research (using cells or animal tissues) or in vivo research (using whole animals) to predict what effect the drug might have in humans.

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Science writer - researches, writes and edits scientific news articles and features for business, trade and professional publications, specialist scientific and technical journals, and the general media.
• Medical sales representative - a key link between medical and pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals. They sell their company's products, which include medicines, prescription drugs and medical equipment, to a variety of customers including general practices, hospitals and pharmacies.
• Osteopath - practises a system of manual preventative medicine that focuses primarily on the musculoskeletal system. Recognises that the body, especially the nervous, circulatory and gastro-intestinal systems, can be affected by dysfunction in body structure and tissues.
• Secondary school teacher - teaches one or more national curriculum subjects to pupils aged 11-16, or up to 19 in schools with sixth forms.

Other options

Jobs that are analytical and quantitative often appeal to physiologists. These include jobs in areas such as law, computing, accountancy, journalism, banking and insurance.

You may be interested in working for a charity that funds research or in gaining the necessary experience to be able to go abroad to work for an organisation such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) , Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)  or Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) .

However, your career path may bear no direct relation to what you did in your degree. Your physiology degree can lead on to many different career paths, both subject specific and generic.

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it’s not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Look at your degree... what next? for informed advice on career planning and graduate employment, or login/register with My Prospects to find out what jobs would suit you, a helpful starting point for self-analysis.

Explore types of jobs to find out more about the above options and related jobs.