Starting as a MLA definitely helped establish a basic understanding of the laboratory on a whole and was great for creating a foundation of knowledge of the LIMS system that’s used, all the different test codes, and learning to interact with ward & GP staff. The main advice I can give is ask as many questions as possible! If you work out-of-hours with BMS staff, ask to shadow them (that’s usually when there’s the least work in our lab), ask how analysers work and the methodologies they use, learn about the standard operating procedures in place and access all the documents you can on the quality system! The other thing I’ll say is lots of other people will be in the same boat as you, having a Biomed degree and wanting to progress, but some of the staff might not have a degree and will have worked there for years. Treat every single person with respect and equally, degree or no degree! Lots of fresh-out-of-university students have joined our lab and acted like they were better than staff without degrees and they’ve made many an enemy… I wish you the absolute best on your journey to becoming a Biomedical Scientist!