Explore & Discover

Role Description

Entry requirements

You don't always need qualifications to become a web designer, but you’ll usually need to show that you’ve got skills in:

visual design
UX (user experience)
SEO (search engine optimisation), marketing and social media
using coding software like HTML and CSS
using design software like Photoshop and Illustrator
You may also find it useful to have basic photo editing and copywriting skills.

Some employers will expect you to have a portfolio of work to show them, like websites you've worked on.

Colleges offer a wide range of courses, and there are lots of free online tutorials.

You could also take a college or higher education course in a web design or multimedia subject.

You may be able to get into this role through an apprenticeship.

Tech Future Careers has more information on tech roles including web design. 

The UK Web Design Association (UKWDA) and Bubble Jobs have more information about becoming a web designer.

Skills required

You’ll need:

strong creative skills
the ability to pay attention to detail
good problem-solving skills and a logical approach to work
the ability to explain technical matters clearly
an ability to work to deadlines

What you'll do

You could work on any kind of website, from education to shopping. You’ll often be responsible for managing the design of your client’s other online services like mobile applications, social media accounts and digital marketing campaigns.

Your day-to-day duties might include:
meeting clients to discuss what they want their site to do
preparing a design plan
deciding which branding, text, colours and backgrounds to use
laying out pages and positioning buttons, links and pictures using design software
adding multimedia features like sound, animation and video
testing and improving the design and site
uploading the site to a server
You’ll work closely with web developers and marketing professionals.

Salary

Starter: £18,000 to £24,000

Experienced: £25,000 to £40,000 (more in senior roles)

Self-employed web designers set their own rates.

These figures are a guide.

Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll normally work 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday. You may have to work extra hours to meet deadlines or when there are problems with a website. 

If you’re self-employed, you’ll set your own working hours.

You’ll work indoors in an office or in your own home at a computer. You may spend some of your time travelling to meet clients.

Career path and progression

With experience you could move into design team management or expand your skills to become a web content manager. 

You might work towards a move into business management.

You could also work as a freelance web designer, or set up your own web design business.

Role Description

You'll be helping people in their own homes or in day centres, residential or nursing homes.

Your day-to-day duties may include:

• getting to know clients and their interests and needs
• helping with personal care like washing, using the toilet and dressing
• food preparation, feeding and giving out medication
• carrying out general tasks like housework, laundry and shopping
• helping clients manage their budget, pay bills and write letters
• supporting families to get used to new caring responsibilities
• giving emotional and practical support to children and young people
• working with other health and social care professionals to provide individual care and development plans
• helping to organise leisure activities
• going with clients to and from a residential home

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements but competition is strong so you’ll usually need a foundation degree or a degree.

If you want to go into quantitative work (analysis based on numbers), these degrees may be useful:

• maths
• statistics
• business/management
• economics
• For qualitative work (analysis based on language), useful degrees include:
• psychology
• sociology
• geography
• social sciences
• anthropology

English or marketing degrees are also useful, as well as sciences or engineering for some specialist industrial jobs. 

You’ll also find it useful to have previous experience in marketing, sales or advertising, or as a market research interviewer. 

You could get a paid internship or join a graduate training scheme. You could also start as a research assistant in an agency and then take further qualifications.

The Market Research Society (MRS) has more information about careers in market research.

2. Skills required

You’ll need:

excellent number and IT skills

the ability to analyse and interpret statistics

written communication skills for report writing and designing questionnaires

creative problem-solving skills

accuracy and attention to detail

organisational and time-management skills

initiative and teamwork skills

3. What you'll do

As a market research executive, you’ll specialise in one type of research – consumer or industrial, social or political. You’ll carry out research using one of 2 main methods:

quantitative – analysis based on numbers, from surveys of large samples of people

qualitative – analysis based on language, from focus groups and in-depth questionnaires

Depending on the type of research, in your work you’ll usually:

meet clients to discuss research projects

come up with a plan or proposal and present it to the client

manage a budget

design questionnaires and organise surveys

brief interviewers and researchers

monitor progress of surveys

analyse data and present results to the client

advise the client how they can best use the research

Most jobs involve a lot of computer work, for background research and to analyse information and produce reports.

4. Salary

Starter: £20,000 to £25,000

Experienced: £25,000 to £35,000

Highly Experienced: £60,000 (senior market research executive)

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

If you work as a quantitative researcher in-house for a company, you’ll usually work in an office with standard hours, Monday to Friday, with occasional overtime to meet project deadlines.

If you work as a qualitative researcher, you’ll often work evenings and weekends to travel to visit clients and focus groups. You may need a driving licence and a car.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress into management, or become a self-employed market research consultant. 

You could also move into the promotional side of advertising or marketing.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no set requirements, but it may help if you have some GCSEs or equivalent including English and maths.

Experience of dealing with the public and giving presentations could be useful, and additional languages may also help.

You may need a Blue Badge in Tourist Guiding to work in places like Westminster Abbey and York Minster.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

• excellent communication skills
• the ability to present information in an interesting way
• a good memory for facts, figures and events
• organisational skills for planning tours

3. What you'll do

You'll work in one place or accompany groups on driving or walking tours.

You'll escort groups around sites, giving information about history, purpose, architecture or other points of interest.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

There are no entry set requirements, but a good general secondary education would be useful. 

Experience of working in a kitchen, in hospitality or a catering service may also be helpful.

You could complete a college qualification in catering, but this isn't essential.

You could get into this job through an apprenticeship.

2. Skills required

You'll need:

the ability to carry out tasks quickly and competently

the ability to pick up detailed instructions quickly and follow them closely

good spoken communication skills

3. What you'll do

Your day-to-day duties could include:

supporting chefs in a specific work section

washing, peeling and preparing food items

using a variety of kitchen equipment such as mixers, special knives and cutters.

unloading deliveries

organising the storeroom

washing kitchen appliances, work surfaces, floors and walls

4. Salary

Starter: £11,500 to £12,500

Experienced: up to £16,500

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You'll usually work shifts, evenings, weekends and public holidays. If you're based at a factory or catering business, your hours are likely to be more regular than in a restaurant. Part-time, casual or seasonal work may be available.

Your working environment will often be hot, busy and noisy. You may find this work unsuitable if you suffer from certain skin conditions.

You'll usually be provided with a uniform.

6. Career path and progression

With experience and further training, you could become a trainee or junior chef. You could also progress into management or move into bar work or food service.

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

You’ll normally need an Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) or Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) accredited BEng degree in chemical, process or biochemical engineering.

If you have a degree in a different branch of engineering, or a related subject like chemistry or polymer science, a postgraduate qualification in chemical or process engineering may increase your chances of finding work.
 
You could also take an integrated master’s qualification, like an MEng, to prepare you for further postgraduate study like a PhD or EngD.

Some universities offer a foundation year for people without qualifications in maths and science. 

Cogent Skills, IChemE, IET and Whynotchemeng have more information on becoming a chemical engineer.

2. Skills required

You’ll need: 

• maths and science skills, particularly chemistry 
• good problem-solving and analytical skills 
• planning and organisational ability 
• excellent IT skills 
• the ability to manage projects, budgets and people

3. What you'll do

You’ll be involved in the design, manufacture and operation of processes that turn raw materials into domestic and industrial products.

You could work in a range of industries, like:

• food and drink 
• pharmaceuticals 
• textiles 
• oil and gas 
• minerals 
• energy and water 
• biotechnology 

You may also research and develop new or improved products.

If you work in research and development, you’ll: 

• test new ways to develop products in the lab 
• use computer models to work out the safest and most cost-effective production methods 
• plan how to move lab tests into a pilot production phase, then on to large-scale industrial processing 
• develop methods to deal with by-products and waste materials in a safe way 

In manufacturing, you’ll:

• work with plant designers to create equipment and control instruments for the production process 
• help to oversee the day-to-day operation of the processing plant 
• monitor production and deal with problems 
• work closely with quality control and health and safety managers 

You could also work in biochemical engineering, developing anything from new medicines like vaccines and stem cell therapies, to sources of sustainable energy like biofuels.

4. Salary

Starter: £29,000

Experienced: £55,000

Highly Experienced: £60,000 (senior chartered chemical engineer)

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

You’ll usually work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may need to work overtime to meet project deadlines. In processing and manufacturing, you might work shifts, including weekends, evenings and nights.

You could be based in a lab, an office or a processing plant. In some environments you may need to wear protective clothing or use equipment like safety glasses, ear protectors or a hard hat.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress to senior process or design engineer, research and development manager. You could go on to be a plant manager, or overall operations manager.
 
You could also move into consultancy work.

Role Description

Your day-to-day duties could include:

• supervising a team of care assistants 
• writing care plans 
• monitoring patients’ vital signs, like blood pressure and heart rate 
• completing patient medication records 
• developing and leading activities for service users 
• keeping families up to date about their relative's progress 
• training and mentoring new staff 
• attending team meetings with service managers 
• providing emergency cover

Role Description

1. Entry requirements

You’ll need to take the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) graduate fast-track diploma to become a chartered member.

To become a chartered member, you’ll need:

to have completed a law degree recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) within the last 7 years, or

to have completed a common professional examination (CPE), or graduate diploma in law (GDL, sometimes known as GDip) conversion course, if you’re a non-law graduate

If you don't have any law qualifications:

you could work for a law firm and study part-time for a level 3 diploma or level 6 professional higher diploma, or

start as a clerical assistant or legal secretary

You’ll then need to work for a further 3 years before qualifying.

Even if you’re not working in a legal environment, if you meet the entry requirements, you could study for the CILEx graduate fast-track diploma full-time, part-time or at home.

CILEx has more information on becoming a legal executive.

2. Skills required

You’ll need:

excellent communication skills

administrative and IT skills

accuracy and attention to detail

research skills

an organised approach

the ability to work under pressure

3. What you'll do

You’ll specialise in a branch of law, like:

conveyancing – the legal side of buying and selling property

probate – wills, trusts and inheritance tax

family law – divorce and children’s matters

civil litigation – disputes between people

criminal law – defence or prosecution of people accused of crimes

company and business law – tax, contracts and employment law

Depending on your specialism, your work might include:

advising clients and explaining legal matters

contacting professionals, like mortgage lenders, planning officers or other lawyers on behalf of clients

researching and summarising legal information

preparing legal documents

writing to clients

drawing up wills

preparing contracts

representing clients in court

preparing bills for clients

4. Salary

Starter: £15,000 to £28,000

Experienced: £35,000 to £55,000

Highly Experienced: up to £100,000

These figures are a guide.

5. Working hours, patterns and environment

In many full-time jobs you’ll work standard office hours Monday to Friday. Flexible hours and part-time work are often possible.

You’ll be based in an office, but may also spend some of your time at courts and police stations.

6. Career path and progression

With experience, you could take on more complex cases and build up a large client base. You could also progress to leading a team of legal executives and secretaries, or become a practice manager in a law firm. 

With further study, you could qualify as a solicitor.