Physiotherapy

Most physiotherapy graduates work as physiotherapists, helping a range of patients with physical difficulties to improve their health and quality of life

Job options

Job options directly related to your degree include:

• Animal physiotherapist
• Higher education lecturer
• Physiotherapist
• Sports therapist

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Acupuncturist
• Chiropractor
• Dance movement psychotherapist
• Exercise physiologist
• Health service manager
• Health improvement practitioner
• Osteopath
• Personal trainer
• Prosthetist/orthotist
• Sports coach
• Sports development officer

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

You'll need to successfully complete a minimum of 1,000 hours of clinical experience as part of your degree. Placements are often in an NHS setting under the guidance of skilled clinicians.

It's also useful to gain additional paid or voluntary work experience in supportive roles, where you can interact with people and develop your communication and problem-solving skills.

Volunteer opportunities may be available with larger, well-known charities such as the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance Service, but it is also worth researching smaller local charities within your area. Search for voluntary opportunities.

Paid opportunities that involve helping others, such as care assistant work in hospitals and clients' homes, can also help you develop key skills and evidence of the core values needed for a career in physiotherapy.

These opportunities can be found within the private, voluntary or local authority sectors, including:

• hospitals
• physiotherapy practices and sports clinics
• sports clubs
• schools or nurseries
• nursing homes
• charities.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

The NHS and private hospitals are major employers of physiotherapy graduates, offering roles in outpatients, intensive care, stroke units, orthopaedics, elderly care, paediatrics and GP practices.

Opportunities are also available with:

• private practice - treating self-referred patients or those referred by healthcare professionals
• sports and fitness - working with sports teams, athletes, gyms or fitness centres
• community settings - roles in residential/nursing homes, schools, children's centres and health charities
• higher education - teaching future professionals and conducting research
• armed forces - opportunities in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Find information on employers in healthcare, leisure, sport and tourism, social care and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

You develop a range of profession-specific skills, such as:

• a strong understanding of anatomy and physiology, essential for diagnosing and treating patients
• an understanding of the types of exercise and movement used to help improve mobility and function
• knowledge and understanding of a range of treatment techniques, including manual therapy, exercise prescription and other modalities, such as ultrasound and electrotherapy.

A physiotherapy degree also builds transferable skills valued by employers, including:

• strong written and verbal communication
• empathy and compassion for patients
• effective time and workload management
• teamwork across professions, and with patients and their families
• confident decision-making
• a problem-solving approach to work
• research and report writing
• the ability to analyse research and to reflect on practice.

Further study

A small percentage of physiotherapy graduates go on to further study directly after their degree. Many prefer to work for several years first to develop professional skills before applying for a Masters (MSc) in a specialist area.

Popular areas of study include advanced physiotherapy in sports and exercise, rehabilitation, neurorehabilitation, paediatric and neuromusculoskeletal physiotherapy.

It's also possible to study courses in animal physiotherapy, and PhD research opportunities are available.

Practising physiotherapists must undertake continuing professional development (CPD) through courses, workshops, supervision and reflective practice.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in physiotherapy.

What do physiotherapy graduates do?

15 months after graduation the majority of physiotherapy graduates (92%) employed in the UK are working as physiotherapists.

Find out what other graduates are doing after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.

Find out more

• The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy - information on jobs, career progression and accreditation.
• HCPC: CPD requirements - continuous development requirements for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.