Youth career Beattie trained with
Heart of Midlothian at under-12 level before starting his career as a schoolboy with
Rangers. After being released by manager
Dick Advocaat, he joined
Celtic.
Celtic During a Celtic under-19 pre-season
friendly against prominent Irish side
Derry City, Beattie scored all six goals in a 6–0 win. He went on to make his senior debut aged 19 on 6 August 2003, as a substitute in a
UEFA Champions League qualifying round 1–0 victory against
FBK Kaunas. He made his league debut on 16 August against
Dundee United. In his debut season he made 17 appearances, including starting in the
UEFA Cup match against
Barcelona. After scoring four goals near the end of the
2004–05 season he was awarded a new three-year contract in July 2005. He started the
2005–06 season by becoming the first Scot since
Gerry Creaney to score in three consecutive games for Celtic. He netted seven goals in the first three months of the season. He appeared as substitute in 43 games and had 22 starts which limited his Celtic career goal tally to 16. His last appearance for Celtic came in the Scottish Cup final against
Dunfermline on 26 May 2007 in a 1–0 win. His last Celtic goal came some months earlier against
Aberdeen on 17 February 2007 in a 2–1 win.
West Bromwich Albion On 3 July 2007 Beattie signed a three-year contract with
Championship side
West Bromwich Albion for an initial fee of £1.25 million with an added £500,000 depending on performance-related add-ons. West Brom manager
Tony Mowbray stated that he would not stand in Beattie's way should he seek a move away from the Hawthorns and after just three appearances he was sent out on loan to
Crystal Palace. On his return Beattie scored his first Premier League goal on 28 December 2008, against
Tottenham Hotspur. His return was brief and he was sent on loan to
Sheffield United. His final game for West Brom came on 26 August 2009 in the
League Cup scoring twice in their 4–3 win over
Rotherham. In all he made 41 appearances scoring 7 times. He made his Preston debut later that day in a 1–0 win away at
Leicester City, but was substituted after 38 minutes due to a muscle injury, later revealed to be a double hamstring tear. Beattie returned to West Brom early in order to receive treatment for the injury and was expected to miss the rest of the season. He made a rapid recovery however, and returned to Preston for the final two games of the loan spell, making one further appearance as a substitute. In September 2008, Beattie joined
Crystal Palace on a month-long loan, making his debut on 27 September against
Ipswich. He scored on his second appearance to give them a victory over
Charlton Athletic in the
South London derby. The loan was later extended until 28 December 2008, however due to an injury to
Ishmael Miller and some goal-scoring success at Palace, Beattie was recalled by West Bromwnich Albion on 10 December. In all he made 15 appearances scoring five times. Beattie joined
Sheffield United on a three-month loan in February 2009, making his debut a day later, appearing as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 draw away at
Plymouth Argyle. He played in all three of the team's
play-off games at the end of the season, including the Final at
Wembley Stadium, but with the club failing to clinch promotion he subsequently returned to his parent club.
Swansea City On 27 August 2009, Beattie joined
Swansea City as a replacement for departed striker
Jason Scotland signing a three-year contract for a £800,000 fee. He scored his first goal on 17 October 2009 against
Ipswich Town. On 4 December 2010, he scored two goals against Ipswich Town. Beattie scored his fourth goal of the season with the winner against
Middlesbrough after Swansea came back from 3–1 down to beat 'Boro 4–3. In October 2011 he was sent on loan to
Watford to gain match time after recovering from an ankle injury. After his return Swansea announced on 20 January 2012 that Beattie had been released from his contract by mutual consent.
Watford (loan) in 2012 On 24 October 2011 Beattie joined
Championship side
Watford on loan until 8 January 2012. He made his debut on 5 November as a substitute against
Middlesbrough. After an injury hit start at Watford, Beattie started only one game which was a 2–2 draw against
Bristol City. He scored Watford's second goal of the game heading in from close range past
David James. In all he made four appearances for Watford scoring once and struggled to break into the side with Troy Deeney, Chris Iwelumo, Marvin Sordell and Joe Garner restricting his first team opportunities.
Return to Scotland Despite interest from other
SPL sides and being poised to sign for
Kilmarnock on 23 February 2012 he signed for Hearts until the end of the season. He chose the number 4 which is unusual for a striker. The vacant numbers were 4, 14, 16 and 37 which he wore at Celtic but he chose 4. Having not played a competitive game in two months he missed the game against
Dundee United on 25 February as was not match fit. After scoring twice in a bounce game, he made his debut as a substitute on 3 March against
Rangers in a 2–1 win at
Ibrox. He scored his first goal for
Hearts in a 2–2 draw with St Mirren in the Scottish Cup 6th round at Tynecaste on 10 March. He had a second goal in the same match wrongfully ruled out for offside. In just his second league appearance for the club he scored his first league goal against local rivals Hibernian in a 2–0 win. and
Scottish Third Division side
Rangers, who offered Beattie a contract however the deal fell through. On 10 August 2012, he signed a one-year contract with
St Johnstone. On 29 September 2012, Beattie made his debut, coming on as a substitute, in a 3–1 win over
Dundee. However, Beattie first team well down the pecking order at St Johnstone, with strikers like
Grégory Tadé,
Nigel Hasselbaink,
Rowan Vine and
Steve MacLean took his spot. In the January transfer window, Beattie was linked with a move to League One side
Notts County going on trial but returned to St Johnstone after
Keith Curle said his lack of fitness was the reason he could not offer a loan deal. On 24 January 2013, he left the club by mutual consent.
Barnet On 10 February 2013, Beattie signed for
Football League Two side
Barnet. He made his debut on 16 February when he started in a 2–1 away win at
York City. After five appearances and no goals, he was released at the end of the 2012–13 season. In the 2013–14 pre-season he went on trial with
Alloa Athletic, and later with
Scunthorpe United, scoring in a friendly against
Frickley Athletic, but was not offered a contract. He also went on trial with
Scottish Premiership side
Partick Thistle in August.
Dundee Beattie signed for
Scottish Championship side
Dundee on 11 September 2013. Three days after signing for the club, Beattie made his debut for the club, in a 0–0 draw against
Hamilton Academical. Beattie scored his first goal of the season, on 28 September 2013, in a 3–1 win over
Greenock Morton. After making a good start, scoring three goals, Beattie, however, sustained a knee injury After an operation, it was announced that Beattie would be out for three months. After Beattie returned to action, new manager
Paul Hartley said he thought Beattie would have a big role to play. He made his first appearance since his injury, coming on as a substitute, in a 1–0 win over
Dumbarton. Beattie scored in his first start, a 3–0 win over Alloa on 26 April 2014. After helping the club gain promotion to the Scottish Premiership, Beattie expressed concerns over his future at Dundee. It was confirmed by the club in May 2014 that his contract would not be renewed.
Malta and return to Scotland Beattie signed for
Maltese Premier League side
Żebbuġ Rangers on 18 August 2014, on a one-year deal, with the option of a further year. In the beginning of September, after less than two weeks with Żebbuġ Rangers, Beattie signed for Scottish League One club,
Ayr United. At the end of the
2014–15 season, Beattie was released by
The Honest Men. In what was described as a "shock move", Beattie subsequently signed for recently relegated
Scottish League Two club
Stirling Albion, however, Beattie departed at the end of the
2015–16 season, after 23 appearances and scoring six goals. In July 2016, Beattie became the highest profile summer signing for newly promoted
Scottish League Two club
Edinburgh City. Beattie spent two seasons with the
Citizens before departing in May 2018. Shortly after leaving Edinburgh, he signed for
Elgin City on a one-year deal. Beattie left the club in January 2019. ==International career==