Jay Miles

"My personality type results are developer, explorer and quality controller, and I think this fits me really well. Like the developer type, I love learning new skills and applying them to solve problems. Like the explorer type, I'm good at researching and thinking about things from different angles, and I like to understand how things work - although I can sometimes be a bit competitive! And like the quality controller type, I want everything to be done well and fairly. These personality types also apply to my job - because I'm training to be a Clinical Bioinformatician with the NHS, I need to develop the computer skills to analyse data and solve problems, and my work needs to be high-quality so that patients get the best possible care."

"As a trainee in clinical bioinformatics, I'm learning how to develop and use computer software to analyse patients' genetic information. By identifying variations in a patient's genetic code, clinical bioinformaticians can assist in the diagnosis or management of inherited conditions, meaning that patients can receive the treatment they need. This involves writing computer programs to process different types of genetic information, or to analyse different types of variation. To become a qualified clinical scientist, trainees like me also have to study part-time for topics including genetic sequencing, healthcare science, and professional practice. I really enjoy the challenge that this job presents - there's so much to learn on so many different topics that it requires careful time management and prioritisation, but it's also incredibly rewarding to develop so many new skills. For trainee clinical bioinformaticians on the NHS Scientist Training Programme, the starting salary is currently around £31,000 per year. This can rise to around £38,000 after qualification, and in time a skilled and experienced Clinical Bioinformatician can earn over £50,000. You don't necessarily have to go through the Scientist Training Programme to become an NHS bioinformatician, so long as you have the right qualifications and experience."

"Like many people, my career hasn't been a straight line from A to B. I've had a flexible approach - I do have long-term goals, such as getting my PhD and becoming a clinical scientist; but when I come to the end of a job I've often based my next move on the topics that I'm currently most excited about. It's natural for your interests to change over time, and to me it makes sense to look for a job that I can be enthusiastic about and committed to. Taking different roles can give you a wide range of skills and knowledge, so don't be afraid to change it up occasionally!I enjoyed most subjects at school, but particularly science and maths, so after 6th form I started an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Southampton. After graduating, I considered staying for my PhD, but decided to get some perspective outside university first. I was offered a job as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in a hospital in Bristol and worked there for nearly two years. This was a great way to gain experience of working in a busy NHS laboratory, and I made some of my closest friends during that time. However, there wasn't much opportunity for career progression. As I'd always wanted to do a PhD, but had been out of study for a while, I decided to do an MSc as a stepping stone. Studying Molecular Neuroscience at the University of Bristol was a great way to develop in-depth knowledge of a subject I'd always been fascinated by, and my research project gave me additional experience. This meant I could successfully apply for my PhD in Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds. For the next few years I researched genetics in microscopic worms using bioinformatics tools, which got me interested in programming for genetics. By the end of my PhD I knew I wanted to go back into the healthcare sector - so as my interests had shifted to bioinformatics, I applied for this training position to develop the skills I'll need."

"Outside of work, I have a variety of interests - I like swimming, playing video games and listening to music, but I also spend time learning languages and growing plants. At the moment I'm learning British Sign Language and Welsh. I really enjoy travelling with my friends to see different cities, although of course we haven't been able to do that recently - we've been making do with lots of video calls!"

"At the moment, my days can be either work or study. Normally, Monday to Thursday are work days, and Friday is a study day. On work days, I work towards completing workplace assessments or 'competencies' - tasks which prove that I understand a specific idea, topic or process. The training programme consists of many competencies, split into different topics over three years. These can be as small as attending a single training session on how to take a genetic family history, or as large as a project to design a database system. Because my specialism is bioinformatics, almost all of my work is done at a computer and I don't have any contact with patients, although I may be able to attend a clinic as an observer. As I progress with training, I'll also learn how to do the department's routine and specialist work. On study days, I work on assignments for the taught parts of the training programme. These are usually essays on specific topics in bioinformatics, for example comparing two types of medical imaging techniques. This involves research into the area and analysis of information, as well as structuring and actually writing the essay. Since the training has both workplace and study aspects, a lot of my time is also spent just organising when I need to do which work!"

"A/AS levels: Biology A level (A), Physics A level (A), Mathematics A level (A), German AS level (A), Further Mathematics AS level (B)Undergraduate degree: BSc Biomedical Science (2:1 Honours), University of Southampton1.5 years full-time employment as an NHS Medical Laboratory AssistantPostgraduate taught degree: MSc Molecular Neuroscience (Merit), University of BristolDoctorate: PhD Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Leeds"