New ‘Big Picture’ shows where studying biology can lead
12 June 2012
For students thinking about their future, life is full of questions. Should I continue studying post-16? Which subjects should I take? Should I go to college or university? How do I get work experience? Do I need a degree to pursue the career I want?
To help students make informed, inspired choices and to give a taste of the varied careers in which science and scientific thinking in general can play a part, we've dedicated this issue of 'Big Picture' to exploring where studying biology can lead. You can download the PDF of the magazine online, and subscribe to receive print or PDF copies of future issues. Class sets are available for UK-based teachers - request yours by emailing us.
In this issue, meet ten people who each use biology in their jobs, but in very different ways. From a health visitor to a brewer and from a wildlife filmmaker to a waste engineer, our case studies show the diverse and often incredible places that a biological background can take you.
Online, you can read extended interviews with the science journalist and entrepreneur featured in the magazine, as well as background articles on some of the science used by our case studies in their work.
Among the online resources for this issue is our agony aunt page, which holds the answers to those burning questions about studying, training and employment - everything from which A levels to choose if you're not sure about your next steps to how to get into a science career without a degree. Any other questions? Email us and let us know.
We have some great short videos on careers too. Join biology A-level student Ahmed as he meets different people to find out about some of the careers open to him. In other selected videos from the Wellcome Trust, hear from scientists, engineers, surgeons and a baker about how they apply science and scientific principles in their everyday work. From our article archive, we've picked 25 further real-life interviews with people who use science in their careers, from a cancer researcher to a stand-up comedian.
We hope you find our magazine and online resources useful - please let us know how you use them. Get in touch and share any other questions, comments or ideas by emailing the ‘Big Picture’ team.
Image credit: wragg/iStockphoto.
