About me

• Health Assessment Specialist / Phlebotomist at Bluecrest Wellness
• Studied: BSc Hons Sport and Exercise Science, MSc Sport and Exercise Physiology
• Contact me on LinkedIn

About my career

After graduating from my BSc, I had a couple of part-time jobs and internships alongside studying for my MSc. I worked part time whilst completing internships with MMU Sport, England Football Association and Manchester City Football Club. Unfortunately, due to the national lockdown all these amazing opportunities came to an end after just six months. Near the end of my MSc completion, I was employed by Bluecrest on behalf of IQVIA as a Medical Testing Specialist where I collected blood and swab samples from participants to test for COVID-19 antibodies and antigens for a nationwide Government project. The skills I learnt from both my BSc and MSc came directly into play for this job; communication with participants, accurate data collection, infection control, time-management, organising my own workload and working independently.

I am currently working as a Health Assessment Specialist/Phlebotomist for Bluecrest Wellness. The company’s aim is to allow people to take control of their own health by offering private health screenings (like an MOT on your car but for your body instead!). The job is remote and involves a lot of travelling around the UK, but I usually work alone, and I love the independence. In terms of training, I already knew how to use the equipment as we had a lot of lab sessions as part of both my degrees, and I was used to carrying out health screenings on athletes at Manchester City and England FA. Phlebotomy was a completely new skill to me, but one which I had always been advised to train in by my lecturers. My degrees and internships provided me with so many transferable skills, which I have taken with me into the world of work. My current role is health and exercise science based, so I have to have sound knowledge of exercise physiology, most of which I learnt through my degree.

The content taught in my degrees have directly related to my career to date, I use this knowledge a copious amount on a daily basis. However, the most important skills for my job are organisation and time-management. I have to plan my travel times, manage my own stock and ensure that I stick to my daily client schedule and timings. These skills have been things I have learnt my whole life, but especially during my years studying. In addition, I spend a lot of time researching so that I am up to date with current health and exercise research. My research skills are something I have mastered throughout my time at Manchester Met.

Although I didn’t do a placement during my studies, I had 3 different internships during my MSc. This experience into the world of work developed me so much as a person, I learnt so much more than I ever imagined and having this kind of experience on my CV impresses a lot of potential employers. They’re also a good talking point when I am networking! I don’t regret not having done a placement year integrated with my BSc, but if I had my time at Manchester Met again, I would definitely complete a placement year.

I am always wanting to learn new skills, so I am non-stop continuing in my professional development. I am completing my BASES Supervised Experience Sports Scientist Accreditation, I attend Strength and Conditioning workshops led by the UKSCA, and I have been writing research articles for publication with the University of Bath and AFC Bournemouth.

My top tip for students

If you really want to work in Sport and Exercise Science you’ve got to work hard and go out to find the opportunities. It is such a competitive industry, you need the knowledge and experience, and you need to stand out and be the best. Everyone graduates from this programme and envisions themselves working for Manchester United as the first team Sport Scientist. It’s not an impossible dream but you aren’t going to walk out of university and straight into a world class sports team. It can be hard to get experience in this industry, even at the lowest level so be creative and think outside the box. For example, during the national lockdown it appeared impossible for me to get any experience in sport, but I got creative and started delivering strength and conditioning sessions to England Basketball Academy over Zoom.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this industry it is that you need to be working hard, harder than someone else because there will always be someone working harder than you.

I’m inspired by

Making my family proud and achieving aspects of my long list of ambitions.

Why I love Manchester Met

The staff, they provided me with endless support throughout my time at university, and even now that I have graduated, I know they will support me in everything I do. I would now consider most them friends before a tutor.

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