British
Science
Week
2026
Discover and celebrate careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
British Science Week takes place between 6 and 15 March 2026. It's a great time to get involved and learn about different STEM careers.
How STEM careers are changing
Lots of jobs in science are changing as industries develop. This means they need people with new skills. In science, this could be:
- teaching information to machines for artificial intelligence (AI)
- developing new biotechnologies to keep up with recent discoveries
- improving industry understanding of sustainability and green careers
Working in a STEM role
Jobs in science, technology, engineering and maths can involve working in a range of places, including laboratories, offices, hospitals or even fields.
You could also work in a range of sectors, including:
Examples of STEM careers
A career in STEM can cover a range of roles, including:
- conducting research
- helping customers in a variety of businesses
- working with data and graphs
- design and management
- testing and building
Here are some specific careers to show the variety of roles possible. You can also explore careers to learn about other job roles which might interest you.
Get involved
You can:
- see what events are taking place during British Science Week
- read about real people working in STEM
Heat pump engineers install zero carbon heating and hot water systems in buildings.
Civil engineers design and manage construction projects such as buildings, bridges, transport links and sports stadiums.
Data scientists use software, artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse and interpret large amounts of data.
Web developers use computer code to create and maintain websites and applications.
Biotechnologists study plants, animals, microbes, biochemistry and genetics to develop new products and improve existing ones.
Data analyst-statisticians collect numbers and statistics to identify trends, create models and present results.
STEM skills and qualifications
You might start gaining STEM skills in your early education. Even if you do not get the grades you hoped for in maths or science, that does not mean you cannot begin a career in STEM.
You might already have transferable skills like communication, project management or leadership. Or you might need specific technical skills and qualifications.
If you want to develop your skills, you could:
- find a course if you want to learn a new skill or get a qualification
- do a free Skills Bootcamp if you're over the age of 19 and eligible
- take a skills assessment to help you understand what sort of roles you could do
Hear from real people working in science
To celebrate British Science Week, we spoke to some real people working in STEM.
Ella and Paul are both biomedical science apprentices at the University of Salford.
1 minute 35 second watch
View transcript
Paul: Hi I'm Paul.
Ella: Hi I'm Ella.
Paul: And we are biomedical science apprentices at the University of Salford.
Ella: About three years ago, I started working in a histopathology lab, which is like a cancer diagnostic lab. Absolutely fell in love with the work that I was doing, because I have family members that have experienced cancer before. So I really felt like I was helping the patients. The natural step forward was to become a biomedical scientist. Hence, I applied for the apprenticeship within the NHS.
Paul: I've been working in microbiology. I joined at the peak of the Covid pandemic. Through a discussion with my manager in one of my personal development reviews, I mentioned about being interested in becoming a biomedical scientist. But I didn't have the right qualifications. So I felt like at the time, I'd maybe hit my limit of where I could go. But then the option of the apprenticeship degree was discussed.
So there's been a lot of support from the university and my workplace with being given the study day and the guaranteed time that we need to work on our studies, because obviously, studying and working a full-time job in the NHS can be very demanding and putting pressures on ourselves really with what we need to do. So it's important just making sure that we get that balance right.
Ella: I'm able to take the material that I've learned so far and apply it to when I'm training people, because I have a greater understanding, a deeper understanding of the material that we're actually dealing with and what it could mean for the patient.
Paul: These bugs that I work with, and organisms I work with day in, day out, I'm actually learning more about what they mean.
Ella: I feel like I'm benefiting in helping the patients through bettering myself through this apprenticeship.
Speak to an adviser about a career in STEM
If you want to work in STEM but are not sure what's best for you, a careers adviser can help.
They can help you to explore your options and find a STEM career that's the right fit for you.