Question: Hi Lucy! How are you and your cat? I was wondering what breed your cat is? Also, how much are you paid annually + are there any benefits you get when you work as a biomedical scientist?

Lucy Lawrence answered on 18 Mar 2022:

Hello, Im really well thanks! How are you? (My cat is also good – its sunny here today so shes loving being outside in the garden watching the birds!)

She is a rescue – which is the best breed of cat. However, we also discovered that she is part turkish van which means she really loves the water and also fetches the post like a dog. Shes a lot of fun and very cute.

Thanks for your question, its a really important one. As a Biomedical scientist in the NHS you get paid in scales. I’ve linked the scales here:
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/working-health/working-nhs/nhs-pay-and-benefits/agenda-change-pay-rates/agenda-change-pay-rates

This is great because everyone’s pay is really transparent and doesn’t leave room for unfair pay.

But you’ll typically go in on band 5 which is about 25k a year, and then it’ll increase for each year you are there. If you choose to become a specialist you can become band 6, and so on and you’ll work your way up the scales. 🥼✨