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To work as an osteopath, you will need either a Bachelor’s (BSc) or Masters of Science (MSc) approved by the General Osteopathic Council and be registered with the Council. Courses typically last three to five years and are a combination of academic, research and more than 1,000 hours of hands-on patient-facing clinical training.

Hours will vary, depending on where you work - for example if you have your own practice. The average full-time equivalent income for an osteopath is £55,708. An associate (an osteopath working within an osteopathic or multidisciplinary practice) earns an average of £41,000. (All figures provided from the 2024 Institute of Osteopathy census of the profession). Approximately 6% of the profession work for the NHS.

To work in osteopathy, you will need a patient-centred approach, an interest in people and how the body works, the ability to work by yourself and think independently, to be able to follow rules, a scientific, enquiring mind, curiosity and creativity, integrity, and the ability to take responsibility.

On graduation, most osteopaths choose to set up their own private clinics, working as a sole practitioner or with other healthcare professionals. They may then choose to pursue advanced clinical practice pathways through postgraduate training in a particular area of practice such as sports injuries, care of the elderly or working with children. There are also opportunities for study at MSc and PhD level. Non-clinical career roles also exist in teaching, professional development and research providing opportunities to create a varied portfolio career. In the NHS, osteopaths may choose to expand their post by taking on the management and leadership of a team or by pursuing an ‘extended scope practitioner’ role.

There are no set entry requirements for a secretary/typist. However, employers expect excellent keyboard skills and they are likely to ask for qualifications in typing or word processing. Employers also expect a good standard of literacy, numeracy and IT skills. They may ask for GCSEs or equivalent qualifications. You may be able to enter an apprenticeship through an administrative role and through further training and qualifications, progress to more senior secretarial or typing role. You will get the training you need to do the job and may be offered the chance to take qualifications from organisations such as AMSPAR and BSMSA.

Administrative staff in the NHS are paid on the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system. As a secretary/typist you will typically start on band 2 and could progress, with further training and qualifications to posts at bands 3 or 4, for example as a medical secretary. Terms and conditions will be different for administrative staff working outside of the NHS. Secretaries/typists work standard hours of around 37.5 a week. In some jobs, this could involve early starts, evenings and weekends. Terms and conditions for staff working outside the NHS will vary

As a secretary/typist, you'll need to work accurately and methodically, meet deadlines, use medical terminology, pay attention to detail, work in a team but use your own initiative, , work with all types of people, be helpful and reassuring if dealing with patients and their families. You'll also need excellent keyboard and IT skills, good spelling and grammar and organisational skills.

With experience, you could become a team leader, coordinating the work of a team of secretaries/typists. With further experience, you could become a manager, responsible for the staff in a department. Some secretaries/typists move into specialist roles such as medical secretary or PA. Others may move into areas such as finance, or health records.