Explore career options in clinical sciences
Here you can find information on the types of careers and employment roles a Bachelor of Science (Clinical Sciences) degree may land you.
You can also discover where to look for job vacancies, as well as professional associations, mentoring and international opportunities.
Opportunities
The field of clinical sciences offers foundational knowledge in medical, allied health, or medical research fields, and skills to apply an integrated understanding of knowledge derived from medicine, chemistry, biology, and experimental science. The focus of this degree is to apply solid clinical science knowledge to medical and other health practice that meet the healthcare needs of patients, communities, and populations.
This degree also opens up various career pathways in healthcare, research, and academia through various roles such as medical science liaison, clinical research coordinator, clinical data profession, healthcare consultant, and more. With the combination of clinical experiences, further training, and education, other advanced career pathways can be considered in the areas of medicine, physiotherapy, dental, occupational therapy, and other broader health professionals.
Career fields
- Hospitals
- Clinical and allied health
- Biomedical research
- Telehealth and digital health
- Health technology and innovation
- Education
- Pharmaceutical and biotechnology
- Laboratory science
- Health advocacy and non-profit organisations
- Healthcare
- Medical centre and clinics
- Health administration and policy
- Health insurance and managed care
- Laboratories
- Aged care and rehabilitation services
- Mental health services
- Sports medicine and exercise sciences
Employment roles
- Research assistant
- Clinical assistant
- Medical laboratory technician
- Clinical trials coordinator
- Clinical research coordinator
- Medical science liaison
- Clinical measurement scientist*
- Health administrator
- Public health officer
- Healthcare assistant
- Medical sales representatives
- Clinical educator
- Medical officer
- Regulatory affairs specialist
- Clinical data officer
- Medical writer
- Allied health professional*
- Medical doctor*
- Physiotherapist*
- Epidemiologist*
- Dentist*
- Scientific operations officer
(*denotes further training and education likely to be required)
Your employability
In addition to knowledge and skills directly related to your program of study, you will also develop a range of other skills such as teamwork, analytical, communication through academic study, employment, voluntary work, sporting and recreational activities and life experience.
Recognising the value employers place on these skills is an important factor in your graduate job search. You can further develop your employability with these resources:
Vacancies
Information on relevant vacancies can be found in a wide range of sources:
- CareerHub
- GradConnection
- Seek (Clinical Sciences)
- HealthcareLink
- Health Workforce Queensland
- HealthStaff Recruitment
- QLD Health
- Queensland Government Graduate Portal
- Medical Jobs Australia
- HealthTimes
- Ethical Jobs
- Careers at CSIRO
Resources
- How to become a clinical scientist
- Life as a clinician-scientist
- Clinical research career paths
- Careers in clinical science
Job application resources
Craft a stand-out resume and cover letter, and learn how to prepare for job interviews.
Notable alumni: Dr Koichi Ito
Dr Ito is the Associate Director of the Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery Group at Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated, where he manages four to five research scientists and associates across a variety of projects.
He says Griffith encouraged him to think about what was going on in the world and the future, something he has continued to do in his own life.
“My time at Griffith has led to many opportunities,” he says.
Approach potential employers
Many work opportunities are not advertised, so we recommend approaching potential employers with the aim of researching their needs and how your skills, experience, interests and qualifications could match theirs.
This is called informational interviewing and will benefit you by:
- clarifying your specific career direction
- enhancing your professional network
- increasing your chances of being offered a job.
Industry outlook
The Your Career website includes helpful information such as job descriptions, employment prospects, average weekly earnings and skills requirements. Every job title in the database has a skills section to help you identify and describe essential skills for your future career.
The My Future website also has job descriptions and a useful career insight section.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website has up-to-date information on graduate salaries, especially the Graduate Outlook Survey (GOS) National Report, which contains undergraduate salary figures.
More detailed information is available at the Labour Market Insights portal.
Professional associations
Joining a professional association is a great way to interact with people in your field who can assist you to explore your career options and potentially find employment opportunities. These associations hold regular professional development and networking events:
- Australia Society for Medical Research
- Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists
- Australia and New Zealand Society for Immunology
- Science and Technology Australia
- Australian Society for Microbiology
- AusBiotech
- Human Genetics Society of Australasia
- The Australasian Society for Human Biology
- The Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists
- Endocrine Society of Australia
- Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand
- Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology
Students are welcome to join and often receive a discount on their membership.
Mentoring
The award-winning Industry Mentoring Program provides an excellent opportunity to further develop your employability and build professional networks.
The program is available to students with more than 80CP as well as recent graduates.
Further careers information
Careers counselling
Individual career counselling sessions are available to all current students and recent graduates.
You can book an initial appointment via CareerHub.
Career planning
Our website has an array of career planning resources you can explore at any stage of your student journey.
Career Readiness
Check out our Career Readiness site in Learning@Griffith for additional information and resources for your career development learning: