Question: I'm interested in biology (particularly medicine) and I love sport - is there any jobs that you know of that might interest me?

Eleanor Parker answered on 10 Mar 2014:

Hi Frizz,
That’s awesome, biology and sport are also 2 of my biggest interests! I went down the pure science route, meaning I went into lab based research with a view to research into exercise related conditions, but there are a lot of possibilities. You could try physiotherapy or sport science. There’s also things like sport nutrition or sport psychology or exercise physiology.
I did biology and PE for my A-levels (chemistry and maths too which you’ll need for medicine) then did a broad degree in medical sciences with some sport science modules. I also did sport coaching outside of academics. For me it was about keeping my options open until I decided how much sport vs science I wanted. I ended up loving the hands on science research more than the application of sport science so I went into research. I started researching the mechanics of movement in sport (different running styles) and how it affects internal systems like inflammation and joint damage and moved onto look smaller, at cells.
The BASES website (http://www.bases.org.uk) is a pretty good resource for accredited sport science related degrees and information on the more sport side of potential careers.
Or if medicine really interests you, you could specialise in sports medicine or do a physiotherapy course. If you contact your local sport clubs, they sometimes allow students interested in physiotherapy to shadow their physio team so you could see what a physio career would involve.
I hope that was somewhat helpful! Please ask if you have any more questions 🙂