STEM Careers profiles to inspire your students

Sixth-form students are often unaware of the wide range of science careers available to them, falling back on old favourites such as medicine and veterinary studies. This resource is designed to raise awareness of a greater range of STEM careers for post-16 students.

This resource consists of 25 PowerPoint slides, each with information about a different science career, ranging from toxicology to environmental conservation.

These slides can be displayed at the beginning or end of a biology or chemistry lesson which relates to the career, providing a spark for discussion and raising awareness of career opportunities.

This resource uses information from ‘Jobfile 2011-2012’ (published by Babcock) to outline the basics of the role, the qualifications needed, and an indication of the pay scale.The information given is brief and factual: students wishing to find out more about the day to day realities of the career may wish to search the web for terms such as ‘careers profile’, ‘a day in the life of’, etc. More information on each career is given in ‘Jobfile’, and each slide includes an additional suggestion for websites to view.

This resource can easily be expanded to include more STEM careers by incorporating information from sources such as ‘Jobfile’, the Prospects database ( scientific organisations, etc. A blank template slide has been incorporated for your use.

Each slide includes information on:

Job title:The name of the job

Salary:A starting salary range up to the maximum suggested earnings range.

Relevant subjects:Some of the A-level subjects (with the odd vocational subject) that are relevant to this job

Qualifications needed:

Band information:Jobfile uses a banding system for ways of getting into the job. Band 1 – no formal qualifications needed.

Band 2 – some qualifications are helpful.

Band 3 – some GCSEs or equivalent are needed.

Band 4 – some A-levels or equivalent are needed.

Band 5 – a degree or equivalent qualification is needed. This resource concentrates on Band 5 but shows which other bands are possible.

Degree information:Brief information on the degrees available and recommended.

Job description:A very brief description of the work involved, as a spark for discussion. There is much more detail in Jobfile for this section.

Page number:The page that this job starts on in Jobfile 2011-2012.

Jobs included and their suggested connections to topics in AS/A2 Biology (based on Edexcel specification)

Job title / Relevant syllabus areas
Agricultural Consultant / Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle. GM.
Agricultural Research Scientist / Micropropagation. Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Arboriculturist / Micropropagation. Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Biochemist / Carbohydrates, Lipids. Proteins, Nucleic acids. Cell biology. Photosynthesis. Respiration.
Biologist / All topics.
Biotechnologist / Cystic fibrosis. Micropropagation. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle. GM.
Botanist / Statins. Micropropagation. Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks, Medicines from plants. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Chemist / Carbohydrates, Lipids. Proteins, Nucleic acids. Plant products.
Chemist: Analytical / Carbohydrates, Lipids. Proteins, Nucleic acids. Plant products.
Civil Service Scientific Officer / Risk studies. Cystic fibrosis. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle. GM.
Countryside / Conservation Officer / Manager / Sustainability. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Ecologist / Niche, Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Environmental Scientist / Plant products, plant nutrients, sustainability, seedbanksEcosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle. GM.
Forensic Scientist / Forensics / Time of Death.
Forest District Manager / Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Geneticist / Genetic risks for CHD. Cystic fibrosis. Master genes, Cancer. GM.
Horticultural Scientist / Micropropagation. Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle. GM.
Laboratory Technician: Science / All topics.
Marine Biologist / Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Medical Herbalist / Statins. Medicines from plants.
Microbiologist / Micropropagation. TB, HIV. GM.
Oceanographer / Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Palaeontologist / Evolution and Adaptations. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle, Evolution and Speciation.
Soil Scientist / Plant products, Plant nutrients, Sustainability, Seedbanks. Ecosystems, Climate Change, Carbon Cycle.
Toxicologist / Forensics / Time of Death.

Useful websites for students to consult

Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry(

British Ecological Society (

Careers in Agriculture (

Futuremorph (

Gatsby Plants (

Genetics Society (

LANTRA (

Microbiology Careers (

Society of Biology (

Royal Society of Chemistry (

Science & Plants for Schools:

STEM Careers Profiles: p. 1

This document may be photocopied for educational use in any institution taking part in the SAPS programme.

It may not be photocopied for any other purpose. Revised 2012.