Bethany Lamond
BSc (Hons) Physiological Sciences 2019
Bethany Lamond, who is the first generation in her family to come to university, graduated from a degree in Physiological Science in 2019 and soon after landed a job at medical device products company Edge Medical. In her role as North East territory Manager, Bethany specialises in the sales of spinal medical equipment.
The 23-year-old from Stanley, explained: “I seek out new clientele which includes speaking to surgeons, nurses, accounting staff, etc. I build up a rapport with them and then assist them in surgery buy explaining the equipment to them and helping the read of x-rays.
“I travel quite a lot within the UK, and I have even been to Germany. About once a week I will do a trip to Manchester and back in one day, usually getting up at 5am to be in surgery for 9am and then getting home around 8pm or later depending on the surgery.”
For Bethany, graduating with a bachelor’s degree and getting a role in a highly highly competitive job has been one of her greatest achievements to date.
She said: “I come from a poor background in an area that statistically doesn’t have many people that go to university. I have done myself and my family proud”.
Bethany was attracted to the University of Sunderland for the modern science department.
She said: “My course was challenging but extremely enjoyable as I love science.
“Senior Lecturer in Biosciences Adam Jones influenced me the most at University. He was always able to help me with my studies when needed as well as providing me with lots of advice regarding my career options. He was the one that suggested medical sales as an idea for a career path to go down. I didn’t even know that that role existed until he told me.”
Bethany’s advice for recent graduates entering the job market is not to worry if you don’t get your dream role straight away.
She advised: “There is so much out there to do, just make sure you are happy with whatever you choose. I was extremely lucky to land the role I have so soon after graduating but it’s not that easy.
“LinkedIn is your new best friend. Start an account as early as possible and start following things you’re interested in. There are so many graduate recruiters on there with plenty of roles and CV help; it’s a very underrated social media tool.”
For the future she would like to either progress through her company or go back into education.
She concluded: “Graduate medicine is my dream, but I feel it is very unachievable, so I’m looking into a second undergraduate degree where you get funding through student finance again (a healthcare course) or a master’s degree.”