1. Home: Explore careers
  2. Clinical scientist

Clinical scientist

Alternative titles for this job include Healthcare scientist

Clinical scientists research and develop techniques and equipment to help prevent, diagnose and treat illness.

Average salary (a year)

£35,000 Starter

to

£68,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

38 to 40 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends on a rota

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a clinical scientist

You can get into this job through a university course or an apprenticeship.

University

You'll need a first or upper second class honours (2:1) degree in a subject related to the specialist area you want to work in. For example:

  • life sciences like biology, genetics or biochemistry
  • biomedical science
  • medical physics

Practitioner Training Programme

Alternatively, you could apply for the NHS Practitioner Training Programme (PTP) to get a degree in healthcare science.

Scientific Training Programme

Once you have your degree, you could apply for the NHS Scientific Training Programme (STP). This programme will train you to become a qualified clinical scientist with a master’s degree.

There are 2 different ways to apply for the Scientific Training Programme depending on your current circumstances.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including maths and physics
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

More Information

Apprenticeship

You might be able to start by doing a higher or degree apprenticeship.

You could do a:

  • healthcare science associate higher apprenticeship
  • healthcare practitioner degree apprenticeship
  • clinical science degree apprenticeship

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

More Information

More Information

Registration

Further information

You can find out more about how to become a clinical scientist from Health Careers.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of biology
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • science skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • complex problem-solving skills
  • maths knowledge
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

There are 4 main areas of clinical science. You could work in clinical bioinformatics, life sciences, physical sciences and biomedical engineering or physiological sciences

Depending on your area you could:

  • research, develop and test methods of diagnosing and treatment
  • collect and analyse complex data to help develop treatments
  • assess different parts of the body to diagnose abnormalities
  • advise medical staff of how to use products and equipment
  • investigate the causes of illness or death
  • study cells or diagnose and analyse blood disorders

Working environment

You could work in an NHS or private hospital, in a laboratory or at a university.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience you could:

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

Healthcare Scientist Apprentice

  • Wage: £22,816.00 Annually
  • Location: Bournemouth, Dorset

Biomedical Scientist ( apprentice )

  • Wage: £24,000.00 Annually
  • Location: London

Courses In England

Biomedical Science

  • Provider: LINCOLN CHRIST'S HOSPITAL SCHOOL
  • Start date: 05 September 2024
  • Location: Lincoln

L3 Edexcel Applied Biomedical Science

  • Provider: SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE AND STROUD COLLEGE
  • Start date: 09 September 2024
  • Location: Filton

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.