Health and social care

Studying health and social care provides you with the skills and knowledge to build a career in a range of sectors, including health, social care, education and public services

Job options

Jobs directly relevant to your degree include:

• Advice worker
• Care manager
• Community development worker
• Community education officer
• Family support worker
• Health improvement practitioner
• Health service manager

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Adult nurse
• Counsellor
• Early years teacher
• Education mental health practitioner
• Housing manager/officer
• Medical sales representative
• Midwife
• Nutritionist
• Occupational therapist
• Physician associate
• Psychological wellbeing practitioner
• Social worker

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Getting work experience can improve your skills, enhance your career confidence and provide you with insights into career options and industries. Take advantage of opportunities to do a short-term or sandwich (year-long) placement while studying to explore different career areas and gain valuable practical skills.

Relevant opportunities for work experience might include working part time in a local hospital, completing an internship for a health-related charity or contributing to a research project through your university. Depending on your career aims, you could also work in an early years education setting or an addiction support service. Gaining experience in support work, befriending or advice may be useful for careers relating to social work and case work.

If you're interested in arts and health, you could explore work experience within art, play or drama therapy. Volunteering or working on a community health project may also be useful.

Other relevant work experience includes working at a local school, at a fitness centre in health promotion, or within a local authority.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Many health and social care graduates work in roles across education, health, public services and the charity sector. Typical employers include:

• the NHS
• local authorities, including social services
• charities, not-for-profit companies and community organisations
• schools, colleges, early years settings and organisations offering adult education.

There are a variety of opportunities available across the private sector, with care companies and private healthcare businesses, for example. Graduates can also work in social prescribing, employed by either the NHS or a private healthcare company and working in partnership with community groups.

Find information on employers in healthcare, social care, charity and voluntary work, and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

You will develop knowledge of the social experiences of health and social care in both the UK and globally, as well as learning about the delivery and management of services, policy issues and how to evaluate evidence.

You also develop a range of skills that are valued by employers in a wide range of sectors. These skills include:

• written communication - by presenting your knowledge and argument effectively through reports and essays
• verbal communication and presentation - by effectively engaging in lectures, tutorials, presentations and supervision meetings with academics
• the ability to work independently and as part of a team - through engaging in independent research and collaborating on group projects
• research and data analysis - by critically analysing information and data and applying it to a specific assignment
• time management and project management - through managing multiple deadlines and planning assignments from start to finish
• multi-tasking and problem solving - gained by managing competing priorities while studying.

Further study

Some health and social care graduates decide to progress onto further study at postgraduate certificate, diploma or Masters level. For many health-related careers, including social work, occupational therapy, counselling, nursing, and speech and language therapy, you'll need to complete further training.

For some careers, there may be accelerated training programmes available for graduates, so you may not need to complete a full degree course. There are also a range of degree apprenticeship options available, particularly within the NHS and private healthcare.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in health and social care.

What do health and social care graduates do?

The top five occupations held by health and social care graduates include care and home workers (16%), nursing auxiliaries and assistants (8%), welfare and housing associate professionals (7%), senior care workers (5%) and residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors (3%).

Find out what other health and social care graduates are doing 15 months after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Find out more

• Health Careers
• NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme
• Frontline
• Think Ahead