Exploring your options
In this section we look at ways in which you can research your options for a career in health.
There’s a wide range of jobs available in health. You could work with patients and the public as a paramedic, doctor, dentist, nurse, physiotherapist or pharmacist, or work in a public health role to improve or protect people’s health.
Or you could join the team to work in healthcare science, management or health informatics or as a porter or secretary in the wider healthcare team.
Careful research into your career options is important. Don’t rely on preconceptions. The key is to create a well-rounded picture of the environment in which you’ll be working, and think carefully about whether you can see yourself succeeding on that career path.
It’s quite natural to have a preconceived idea of what a certain area might be like. But don’t make a decision on this basis without further research. It would be unwise to limit yourself and rule out options unnecessarily, and you might be surprised at what some areas have to offer.
Before opting for a particular job role you should have knowledge not just of the work, but the environment in which you’ll be working and the training you will need. It is a good idea to consider:
- the nature of the work
- who you'll be working with
- study and training required
Find out more in the sections below about each of these areas and the questions you need to ask.
You can begin your career exploration activities by either visiting our explore role pages or try our compare roles tool.
Nature of the work
- what sort of work will you be doing? Is this a role involving patients, specific departments etc?
- is there a lot of variety in the work, or does it tend to focus on very singular specialised problems?
- what are your shift patterns likely to be, and how often will you be working out of hours?
- are there particular ethical issues you'll be dealing with?
Who you'll be working with
- who will you be working with on a regular basis?
- are your potential colleagues a group of people with similar interests and values?
- do your potential colleagues' interests and values match your own?
Study and training required
- what study and/or training is needed for the job role/s you're interested in?
- does the study and training required fit in with your skills and experience?
- how long will the training typically last?
- what are the opportunities for this option?
Additional ways to explore your options
Networking and attending careers fairs are great ways to interact directly with people to find out about opportunities and to make connections that may be advantageous to you in the future.
You can also use the Internet and social media to help explore your options - click on the links below for more information on these sources.