10 Jobs With a Health and Social Care Degree (Plus Salary)

Updated 9 August 2023

Health and social care describe the medical and social care infrastructure and provision in the health sector. It spans NHS, local authority and private sector delivery of healthcare-related services to the public within clinical settings and the community. If you're looking for health and social care degree jobs, there is a wide range of career options that are open to you. In this article, we profile jobs with a health and social care degree requirement.

10 jobs with a health and social care degree requirement

There are a multitude of jobs with a health and social care degree you can find following graduation. Some roles may require additional qualifications and ongoing training to practice competently. Here are 10 leading health and social care jobs and professions to consider:

1. Nurse

National average salary: £31,058 per year

Primary duties: Nurses care for, observe, treat and promote the health of their patients. The profession is diverse, ranging from community-based roles in public health, to the undertaking of complex procedures and monitoring in intensive care. Following completion of a suitable health and social care degree, all nurses must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Related: 7 Types of Nursing Careers

2. Care worker

National average salary: £19,092 per year

Primary duties: Care workers directly care for people who are mentally or physically limited in their ability to undertake the activities of daily living. Tasks undertaken by care workers include the washing, dressing and feeding of clients. The care worker is an entry-level role within the care sector, with workers providing care in nursing homes or a client's own home.

3. Health care assistant (HCA)

National average salary: £20,386 per year

Primary duties: Health care assistants assist doctors and nurses in the day-to-day management of in-patients and outpatients. The role includes taking patient observations such as pulse or blood pressure, assisting in the movement of patients and helping patients with their feeding and personal hygiene. HCAs are not on a professional register, but are directly accountable to their employers, who train and supervise them.

4. Community development officer

National average salary: £28,753 per year

Primary duties: Community development officers, also known as philanthropy managers, work within communities to tackle social, cultural, and economic disadvantages and empower households to improve their lives. They are usually responsible for managing funding to develop projects and programmes that can help local people. This third-sector role may involve building long-term relationships with health and social care professionals in the community.

5. Counsellor

National average salary: £30,299 per year

Primary duties: Counsellors provide talking therapies to people with emotional problems, addictions, life challenges or mental illness. A counsellor may work with patients on an individual basis, or as part of a group therapy session. Counsellors require training and accreditation in one or more types of counselling, including relationship counselling or bereavement counselling.

6. Health advisor

National average salary: £26,556 per year

Primary duties: Health advisors direct patients to the most appropriate care for their needs. Health advisors often operate by telephone and are responsible for assessing patients and providing some basic health care advice, including how to manage their condition at home. If a patient needs to be seen by a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, a health care adviser may support them in accessing urgent care.

7. Youth worker

National average salary: £22,374 per year

Primary duties: Youth workers work with young people in educational or community settings. Their role is to support the educational, social and personal development of young people so that they can fulfil their potential and contribute to society. Local authorities often fund youth workers to work in communities with socioeconomic disadvantages.

8. Psychologist

National average salary: £34,458 per year

Primary duties: Psychologists provide therapeutic support to those who are dealing with emotional or mental disturbances. Qualification as a psychologist usually requires post-graduate and clinical training. Psychologists may specialise in one of several specialities in psychology, including child psychology or educational psychology.

9. Paramedic

National average salary: £34,687 per year

Primary duties: Paramedics are trained in the provision of resuscitation and stabilisation of patients who present in the community. They undertake rigorous clinical training, including advanced life support certification, and may be able to prescribe and administer drugs to severely unwell patients. They are distinct from ambulance drivers, but may also be able to drive an ambulance or other emergency vehicle.

10. Occupational therapist

National average salary: £33,819 per year

Primary duties: Occupational therapists support people who are limited in their abilities to complete the activities of daily living (ADLs), such as washing, dressing, eating and mobilising. An occupational therapist first assesses a patient completing key tasks, usually within their home or living environment, and then makes recommendations on interventions and modifications that can help the patient complete key tasks. Occupational therapists usually work as part of a multidisciplinary team to rehabilitate patients and help them to live as independently as possible.

Valuable skills and abilities for health and social care degree jobs

Health and social care degrees are designed to prepare you to pursue jobs and careers within health and social care. In this sector, professional and allied roles are patient-centred, often directly delivering treatment and care to patients or community-based clients. Because of the unique level of access and intervention in the lives of private individuals, health and social care graduates are trained to develop the following key skills:

Communication skills

Sound communication skills are critical to the delivery of health and social care services that are safe and effective. Communication skills are a key part of most health can social care degrees, with students learning to talk to patients in various settings and circumstances and make a sound clinical assessment based on what has been said. Health and social care professionals also have to be able to communicate with each other accurately and succinctly so that information is relayed clearly.

Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills make all the difference to people who may be distressed or find it difficult to communicate verbally. In BSc health and social care jobs, non-verbal communication, like touch, eye contact and smiling enhances interactions with patients and conveys compassion. In interviews for health and social care degree jobs, the interviewer assesses candidates carefully for these skills.

Empathy

To provide medical, rehabilitative or long-term social care for patients, professionals need to be able to understand and share the feelings of their patients. Appreciating their perspective can help professionals to respond to their needs better. Empathy helps to build a therapeutic relationship with rapport and trust, which are essential to progress.

Observation

Health and social care professionals need to have keen observational skills. Observation is a key part of assessing patients and monitoring their response to treatment. Being able to observe an individual who is acutely unwell or vulnerable means that the help they need can be prioritised, for example, in a triage setting.

Clinical skills

A large proportion of health and social care degree jobs are clinical professions. This means that graduates must develop core clinical skills for examining, assessing and treating patients. In clinical roles, clinical skills like taking a blood pressure reading or listening to the chest are used in almost every patient interaction.

Team working

A multidisciplinary team always delivers health and social care. The team may include doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and counsellors. By working as a team, the care provided is more holistic as each team member contributes their specific expertise.

Conflict management

Working in health and social care can present challenging situations where patience and their relatives become agitated, angry, or violent. Health and social care professionals need to be able to de-escalate situations, usually by listening and allowing affected individuals to speak and express their problems. Health and social care workers also need to know when to call for help to protect themselves and others.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries‌ ‌may‌ ‌‌vary‌‌ ‌depending‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌hiring‌ ‌organisation‌ ‌and‌ ‌a‌ ‌candidate's‌ ‌experience,‌ ‌academic‌ background‌ ‌and‌ ‌location.‌

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