Sciency folk! Help me choose a degree

[Flabrador]

I've been offered a place on Biomedicine, Medical Biochemistry, Biology (Molecular and Cellular), and Biochemistry. They're all very similar modules etc but I wondered if anyone had any opinions or advice about which direction to go in? Or if anyone has done these, what are they like? Tia

Are they all at the same uni? What choices will you have to change courses once you've started?

I did biology at uni- started doing biochemistry but ended up with a degree in genetics! I was very glad to be at a uni where I could choose the combinations that suited me as I changed my mind throughout.

I guess my advice is that if you're not 100% sure on a particular course, choose some flexibility, if you can.

Congratulations btw 😀

Yeah all the same uni. I'm not sure about flexibility, all four of them are pretty much the same just a couple of modules are swapped around between them. Not sure why they all have such different names tbh. I'm leaning more towards Biomedicine or Med Biochemistry as those two have the broadest range of modules.

If it helps I want to work in a lab (hospital/vets/etc) testing and helping diagnose etc. Long term would love cancer research.

Love genetics! Fascinating stuff. Thank you

They all sound very similar, and like you'll be able to swap around and choose modules based on your interests. However, to actually work as a biomedical scientist- someone who actually runs lab tests in a hospital laboratory- you need a certified degree in biomedical sciences. If this is what you want to do, check the biomed course is accredited.

All those types of course will have similar elements of microbiology, genetics, biochemistry and laboratory skills. Try and take a close look at the modules to see which you like most.

(Have a biomed- type first degree).

To work in a vet lab you need a veterinary degree. To work in a hospital lab you need an IBMS accredited biomedical sciences/healthcare sciences degree. It is very specific and without it you will not be eligible to work. Also make sure you do your placement (they aren't always widely advettised) and get your generic registration portfolio finished before you leave uni or you will be disadvantaging yourself. Check your degrees are accredited with professional bodies as some aren't...

The biomedical science degree has recently changed to healthcare science and some universities are still offering the old (unaccreditwd) format

If you want to work in a lab then a degree in Biomedical Science would be most appropriate as it's vocational and leads to the correct qualification for registering with the HCPC. Any of these other degrees could lead you into lab work but you'd need to do a postgraduate course to top up your degree before qualification.

I also have a biomedical sciences degree and do careers outreach lectures in colleges. Be careful in your choices or you could find yourself having to do another year at uni to do a pgc to get enough credits to get the degree recognised, by which time your peers will have a years more work experience than you and less debt.

Ah fantastic advice, thank you. I'll double check if the biomed is accredited! I'm definitely going to do the 4 year with work placement. I want to make sure I've got the right experience. I'm nearly 30 so wouldn't want to be adding on time and debt by doing the wrong one as you say

Also this might sound like a daft question but is Biomedicine and Biomedical Science the same thing? Have just looked on the Uni website and can't see anything related to IBMS. Will email them this afternoon when I get home from work.

Biomedicine and biomedical science are not the same degrees. Be careful which you go for if you want to work in labs.
www.ibms.org/registration/becoming-hcpc-registered/
careers.ibms.org/students/choosing-an-accredited-degree/
careers.ibms.org/students/accredited-degree-courses/undergraduate-uk-courses/

If you go down the biomedical sciences route be careful which discipline you specialise in. There is a national push towards superlabs so you may find that any local labs to you only offer 'hotlab' services. This is fine if you specialise in haematology and transfusion as they will always need staff to cover the hotlabs and transfusion 24/7. If you work in Microbiology, cell path or biochemistry, you could find yourself working in a factory lab many miles from home.

OP in case it helps this gives you an idea (see bottom for qualifications) for an other (more competitive) career paths for a clinical lab. I picked genetics as an example in view of your comment above.
www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/healthcare-scientist-genomics

All these links are brilliant, thank you all so much you've been hugely helpful. My uni isn't on the list of accredited ones with the IBMS but it seems like there are ways of registering with the HCPC without an accredited degree. Food for thought. I have plenty of time to decide and could even change my course choices yet so I'll look into it!