Biology graduates are well placed to succeed in any job where data handling or research skills are important. These jobs would not necessarily have to be restricted to science-based employers.
Employers recruiting graduates for biology-related jobs include:
- universities and clinical research organisations
- pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
- private hospitals and NHS trusts
- national and global health, conservation and environmental charities
- scientific and technical consultancies
- schools and colleges
- outreach organisations, such as museums, science centres and broadcast companies.
Many biology graduates pursue opportunities outside the science, education and health sectors in industries such as business, finance, the civil service, retail management, marketing and sales.
You could also apply the broader skills developed during your degree to many other opportunities: it is estimated that although graduate employers often specify a minimum degree classification as part of their shortlisting, approximately 70% of graduate employers do not specify that you must have studied a particular subject to work for them. However, graduate employers do highly prize skills such as strategic planning, resilience under pressure, creative problem-solving and commercial awareness which are some of the key skills you can develop during your course. Therefore, you could use your degree to access work in a multitude of sectors or industries.
It is also worth noting that around one third of biology graduates go onto postgraduate study.
Researching your career options
With such a wide range of careers open to you as a biology graduate, it is important to make sure you explore and research your options thoroughly so that you can make informed decisions about your future.
Take a look at the Prospects, TargetJobs and the professional associations websites for inspiration:
Employment opportunities
Below is a snapshot of what some University of Plymouth biology graduates told us they were doing 15 months after graduation. For some graduates, these jobs serve as stepping stones to professional posts by providing relevant workplace experience.
- Acquisition Consultant
- Assistant Scientist
- Audio Engineering
- Biomedical Support Worker
- Brewer
- Delegate Sales Executive
- Development Scientist
- Environmental Education Tutor
- Graduate Field Research Assistant
- Graduate Management Trainee
- Gymnastics Coach
- Health And Safety Consunary
- Laboratory Analyst
- Laboratory Assistant
- Lab Scientist
- Lab Supervisor
- Laboratory Technician
- Lab Technician Covid Testing
- Marketing Coordinator
- Medical Workshop Leader
- Molecular Scientist
- Necropsy Technician
- Performance Officer
- Pharmaceutical Stability Analyst
- PhD Student
- Product Specialist
- Renewables System Designer
- Research Assistant
- Research Technician And PhD Researcher
- Sabbatical Officer
- Seasonal Ecologist
- Science Teacher
- Science Technician
- Secondary Science Teacher
- Senior Production
- Senior Scientist
- Service Desk Operator
- Subcontractor For An Ecological Consultancy Company
- Sustainability Consultant
- Teacher
- Technician
- Tissue Handling Technician
- Waste Officer
- Water Quality Inspector
Employers
- ADM
- Angle Europe Limited
- Ashlyns School
- Assurity Consultant
- AWE
- Campden BRI
- Cignpost Diagnostics/ SRGsynergy
- Covance
- DiaSorin
- Ecology Solutions
- Field Studies Council
- GDF
- Green Power Global
- Greenbell Veterinary Surgery Diagnostics
- Harden High School
- Huntsworth Health
- Leonardo
- Lighthouse Laboratory
- Macromed
- Mar Expeditions
- Marine Academy Plymouth
- Medical Mavericks
- MedPharm
- NHS
- NHS Devon And Cornwall Trust
- Novogene
- One Scientific
- Oxford Nanopore Technologies
- Pharmaron
- Porton Biopharma
- Red Sea Project
- Scottish Water
- The Environment Agency
- The Eurotech Group
- The Vaccine Group
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Torbay Pharmaceuticals
- Tropic Biosciences
- UK Biocentre
- UK Health And Security Agency
- University of Birmingham
- University of Exeter
- University of Glasgow
- University of Oxford
- University of Plymouth
- Valuation Office Agency
- Viridor
- Wessex Water
*Data is from the Graduate Outcomes Surveys of 2017/18 and 2018/19. Graduates were surveyed 15 months after graduating. Data displayed is for 24 UK-domiciled, first degree, full-time graduates who are working, studying or looking for work.