Thanks for the responses :)Yh the plan is to do med later on. Though I know getting into post grad is way different with the GAMSAT and all , my huge UMAT failure is reminding me not to overestimate myself. That's why I'm kinda thinking of back up plans.
Sorry for my ignorance but what do you mean by 'lab work'?
It's good to think about backup plans! Plenty of people aiming for med don't, and it bites them when they don't get in.
I've heard that right around the time med rejections come out, the careers centre at Unimelb is inundated with anatomy majors.
Certainly there are jobs you can do with a biomed degree, for instance in the public service, but they're slim pickings
A lot of government departments will take anyone with any degree . As in, they won't chuck your application out just for this. You still need to have high marks, perhaps some experience or extra-circulars. That's a job people without a degree couldn't get. Already better off on one strike. Common path for arts grads too.
It's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but most APS grad programs are insanely competitive (I'd probably put getting into the Treasury/RBA/PC grad program up their with getting into med for economic grads,) and won't just take
anyone. Getting a job, period, in the APS as a grad is pretty challenging, and there aren't really that many pathways available that are
just for science students. As you've said, a few departments will take anyone, as long as they have a degree, although there's a bias towards law graduates. I'm rambling a bit now, it's definitely not the case across the board, but yeah, I wouldn't rely on these jobs, especially in this climate.
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Degree related jobs - These are pretty slim, especially without honours or experience. If you're lucky you might get a lab assistant job or something like this but they usually aim for honours minimum. If you have done honours, it does open up a whole other bunch of jobs (fairly decent ones but there is a lot of competition) that you could conceivably stay in for life and still be alright.[/li][/list]
Definitely the case, I had a few friends who managed to land a lab assistant/lab tech right out of undergrad but they were the lucky ones (usually doing diagnostic or genetic tests, or something similar). Different case after Honours - there
are jobs there, even if they are occasionally competitive and hard to find, but if you're good you'll probably find something.
Since you're in first year, it's a bit early, but I'd strongly caution against doing Honours just because you didn't get into a preferred postgraduate degree. Honours is tough in it's own right, and if you don't want to do it, you won't go well.
Your employability may be increased by completing a post-grad but doesn't necessarily mean it'll be super easy either. Some degrees like physio and so on will give you a path for sure but it'll take even more years (of lost earning, lost experience, lost moving up the ladder) for no guarantee of jobs at the end of this next, expensive masters.
Arguably, if you just want *a job* you're best trying to get one straight out of your degree. 2-4 extra years of earning and moving up the ladder. Only if you make $60,000 a year, that ~$250,000 extra earned compared to if you did masters for 4 years (and didn't work). If you want a certain job, then yeah, you might need to go further.
I agree with all this - a science degree isn't going to get you a job in it's own right. Nobody is going to hire you because you know a lot about anatomy/biochemistry/zoology, they'll hire you because of the generic skills that you should have picked up as part of your science degree (analytical, writing, practical) and/or because they need a set of hands to train in the lab.
If you're planning to do a postgrad (especially super-competitive postgrads like Medicine), you should keep in mind what alternative plans you have through your degree.