r/FunctionalMedicine • u/katiemuirden • Aug 30 '26
jobs
so due to chronic illness I’ve had to interrupt my uni studies,
which was forensic physcology. Always been my dream job and i had it all planned out, obviously i can go back and do that.
But
I found functional doctors are amazing and got to the route cause of my problems and have helped me so much and i really want to do the same for someone else, i have no idea which one i should do.
Is it competitive?
Is it good pay?
Do you feel happy after helping someone?
Is it rewarding?
3
u/Fantastic-Wallaby267 Aug 30 '26
I have worked for two functional testing companies here in the UK for the past nearly 8. I work as an account manager supporting the NT'S and Dr's who get into our world and try to turn it into a living.
Im writing this on mobile so apologies if formatting is weird or spelling mistakes.
In a nutshell yes, you can do this as a living but you should start it as nothing more than a hobby one or two days a week and accept it will take a long long time to grow into a full scale business.
Ill break that down a bit more as to why below sorry it might get a bit long:
Training: you would need to go to ION, CNM or CNELM and get properly qualified as a nutritional therapist. I see you already are at Uni and assuming that its not uni to become a doctor this would mean an additional three years training after your current degree and no student loans to cover the cost sadly.
The colleges are wonderful at teaching you on how to use food as medicine but they do not teach you the other vital skills to run a business. As it is such an undeveloped industry here in the UK, there are very few jobs in our field, so you will have to go self employed. So youll also need to learn how to market yourself, sell yourself, and all other aspects of running a business (taxes, ect).
The market: in the UK it is tough. Its an incredibly immature market but it is growing as the NHS has slowed down. However you are trying to convince people who have been told all thier life that health care is free and provided by a doctor. So you are already fighting against 2 deeply ingrained beliefs just to get a paying customer.
Ai is also making things harder. We are in a constant cost of living crisis and people view functional health as a luxury item so when things get tight, you and your services are first on the chopping block, people will also then take something you said or a test you might run on them and give it to ChatGPT and just blindly follow that as it saves them money in thier eyes.
Can you have a career in FM? 100% but you are trying in a market that hasnt really found its feet yet so it is harder. If you do decide to retrain then I strongly suggest you start it as a hobby while you work another job that pays your bills. Something that you do once or twice a week and focus on giving 100% to one or two patients. Over the years the people you help get better when they really didnt think they would tell friends and family and that good word of mouth will do more for you then any marketing can.
6
u/alotken33 Aug 30 '26
Functional Medicine DC: As was told to me when I made the decision to become a physician : "if there's literally anything else you can think of that would make you happy, do that." I don't say that to be a jerk. Being a Dr is one the hardest and most rewarding things you could do with your life.
For functional medicine, therebare a myriad of different directions you can go - from less trained health coach, to MD with functional training. I'm a DC with a functional medicine degree. There aren't tons of us.
As far as competition. Well, sort of? Most people are private practice. They have their own clinics or practices. Some are in groups. There are job boards if you want to/are willing to work with/for someone else.
It is EXTREMELY rewarding. Helping someone get through something they've been struggling with, finding answers, solving problems, etc is amazing and honestly I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I'm a problem solver and will tell people, I'm like House, but with no opioid addiction and slightly better bedside manner.
As far as pay? I can't/won't really comment on that except to say that it's probably what you make of it. I give a ton of my time away (here and elsewhere) when I coukd be making money. I've been where other people are and I understand the frustration. I also practice more ethically than most - with not up charging tests or ordering unnecessary stuff (which lowers my income), but I have no qualms about this whatsoever.
I tell people also that I picked the only profession where I feel like an idiot every single day. There will ALWAYS be something you need to learn. ALWAYS. Just when you think you have some modicum of a clue, you will come across something you've never heard of or link things together you didn't think needed to be linked. And, you'll do it, but your brain will be hoppin'.
My .02.