WHEN scientist Alice Keay started working in her dream job in an NHS medical testing laboratory, she thought it was the beginning of a life-long career.

The 24-year-old’s role was a £18,000-a-year microbiology assistant, checking bodily fluids for bacteria and STDs and was keen to work her way up the career ladder.

But just six months later, when lockdown hit, Alice’s lab changed into a Covid testing centre, and for the next 18 months, she was working on the frontline during the pandemic.

The long hours and through-the-night shifts soon took their toll and Alice suffered burnout.

She turned to Instagram where she built up a profile of selfies and bikini shots and was soon spotted by M Models Management, and was booked for her first shoot, which paid £500 for two hours.

It piqued Alice’s interest, and the biomedical science graduate made the tough decision to quit the NHS to work as a model – and she hasn’t looked back.

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“Biology was what I’d always wanted to do since I was 12. Then when I got the job at the NHS, it didn’t turn out to be what I’d expected,” she said.

“After the lab turned into a Covid testing centre, staff were off suffering with their mental health or with Covid, I was having to pick up so many extra nightshifts – and it felt impossible to get a day off. 

“I clung on to the NHS for as long as possible, I asked to change labs to see if it was that, but I had to come to the realisation that this wasn’t where I wanted to be. 

“I’d never thought about modelling before, and at 22, I was late to it. But I started having so much fun, and became happier. I knew it would be a leap of faith – but it’s all worked out for the best. My mental health is better. I’m not burnt out. 

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“When I used to wake up in the morning while working at the NHS I would cry. I wake up now for shoots and I’m so excited and I love the day. I’ve spent so many years being academic, and now I realise I need that creative outlet.”

Alice studied biomedical science at the University of Birmingham and graduated with a 2:1 in 2019. She got a job straight away as a medical lab assistant in microbiology at Birmingham Hospital.

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She said: “Any bodily fluid – urine, stool, vomit, spit – used to get sent to us for testing. Anything that was wrong with you because it had bacteria in it would get sent to us, so we could culture it, grow it and diagnose what was wrong with you.

“We also tested foreign objects – the weirdest thing I saw was an entire finger that had to be chopped off due to a diabetes infection. I had to ‘blend’ it to test it to find out which antibiotics to give the patient. It was one of the more unusual jobs!”

Then in March 2020, after Covid hit, Alice’s lab was transformed into a 24-hour Covid testing centre – managing thousands of tests a day.

Her hours went from mainly weekdays 9-5, to through the night, with 8pm-8am shifts. She said the pressure was intense, and the equipment often didn’t work properly, which would result in tests having to be redone.

As the months went by, with no sign of Covid letting up, Alice began to feel exhausted. She said others in the lab were often unwell, or were off due to mental health problems or contracting Covid.

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She told MakeTheHeadlines.co.uk: “I didn’t see any sun, the lab was in the basement, so I was vitamin D deficient. I was exhausted and burnt out. It was all hands on deck and in the beginning no one really knew what they were doing. 

“It was a lot of pressure, and there were a lot of midnight tears if the machines didn’t work properly and there was no one there in the beginning who could help you.

“There were many straws that broke the camel’s back. The last was when I kept offering to pick up people’s nightshifts and had been on six in a row, and I realised I would only have one day off in between before then restarting on day shifts. I was shattered and it was so hard to get your body clock back to normal. 

“I asked my manager for an extra day off but she said I couldn’t as there were other people off. I was crying and telling her how exhausted I was, and I thought ‘why am I almost killing myself for this?’.

“My health was worth more than being paid £10.50 an hour, so I left to go to another part of the NHS for six months but I knew my heart wasn’t in it so in November 2021, I left.

“I was grateful for the job stability throughout Covid, but it feels like the only silver lining.”

I didn’t see any sun, the lab was in the basement, so I was vitamin D deficient. I was exhausted and burnt out.

In the meantime, Alice had started her Instagram page in April 2020, and was building a profile of creative images and selfies. She was starting to be approached by brands such as Pretty Little Thing and BooHoo for paid posts, and Alice started to think about modelling as a career.

When she was booked for a £500 shoot for two hours’ work, it helped her make the decision to leave the NHS.

She said: “I had done a few shoots with family photographers, but I had been following M Models Management in Manchester and saw they did an academy, a workshop for new models, and I went and met Madeleine Loucopoulos the owner, back in March 2021. 

“She was casting for a magazine cover girl, and she needed people with a big smile and she saw me laughing and smiling and said she wanted to put me forward for it and signed me.

“I got the job and it was like ‘wow so much money!’. I also got my travel paid and there was food. It felt like a life of luxury, and I thought I could get used to this.

“I’ve been cast for BPerfect Cosmetics and JD – and my photo appeared in Vogue. I also work as an influencer and have worked with brands such as Ann Summers and Rihanna's Savage X Fenty.

“I’ll happily do lingerie and swimwear shoots. My boyfriend is really supportive – he saw first hand how sad I was and being so upset all the time at the NHS so he’s happy if I’m happy.

“My mum didn’t like it at first as she was worried about job stability, but she’s come around to it now!”

Alice says her life is now a world apart from when she was working in the lab – she’s much happier and likes to get involved in the creative process.

She says she is going to see where modelling takes her – but is pleased she has her qualifications to fall back on.

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“My goal is to be on a billboard one day. That’s when I know I’d made it,” she said.

“I’ll never say never to going to the NHS, but for now I’m happy, and I’ve got a smile on my face. Every day is different and I’ve got something to look forward to.”

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