Careers in Microbiology
Microbiology as a lesson taught through schools in science classes. However as students grow the spectrum goes bigger. Text book tells us, microbes are the whole world and it’s separate from the visible. The study of Microbes gets extensive during Junior College years; further to those who study Biology/Botany/Zoology/Life Sciences as bachelor’s degree programme gets much better exposure to the world of microbes. Here at this stage many decide to live and know about these tinniest particle size beings or may be smaller, study their life and make it as a career. Microbiology as a separate study discipline is for master’s programme i.e. MS or MSc etc. Also some students chose go for a PhD or Higher in Microbiology.
If you are someone interested in pursuing science oriented career and would like to study the relationship between organisms and disease or the effects of antibiotics on microorganisms, Microbiology could be the right career option for you. Microbiologists are actively involved in research and lab work. There is very high growth potential in this field.
Those who study Microbiology as a master’s course or higher may get following job roles:
- Research Assistant
- University/College Teacher
- Food, Industrial or Environmental Microbiologists
- Quality Assurance Technologists
- Sales or Technical Representative
- Clinical and Veterinary Microbiologists
- Medical Technologists
- Biomedical Scientist
- Clinical Research Associate
- Microbiologist
- Pharmacologist
- Food Technologist
- Scientific Laboratory Technician
- Physician Associate
- Research Scientist (life sciences)
Typical industries where microbiologists gets employment are
- Pharmaceutical Industries
- Academic Institutions
- Laboratories
- Public and Private Hospitals
- Research Organizations
- Environmental Agencies
- Food Industry
- Beverage Industry
- Chemical Industries
- Agriculture Department
Role of Microbiologist
Microbiologists typically do the following:
- Take up research projects for various purposes such as developing new drugs to combat infectious diseases.
- Supervise the work of biological technicians and other workers and evaluate the accuracy of their results.
- Store cultures of bacteria and other microorganisms for future study.
- Identify and classify micro organisms found in specimens collected from humans, water, food, and other sources.
- Monitor the effect of micro organisms on plants, animals, and other micro organisms and on the environment.
- Keep abreast by reading latest findings and attending conferences.
- Document research findings in the form of technical reports, research papers, and recommendations.
- Present research findings to scientists, non-scientist executives, engineers, other colleagues, and the public.
Skills Required to be Microbiologist
Knowledge Skills: Sound knowledge of subjects like, Biology, chemistry and mathematics.
Reading and Writing Skills: Understanding research journals, preparing technical reports requires reading skills and effective communication in writing requires good writing skills.
Perseverance: Microbiological research involves substantial trial and error, and microbiologists must not become discouraged in their work.
Observation Skills: Microbiologists must constantly monitor their experiments. They need to keep a complete, accurate record of their work such as conditions, procedures, and results.
Sound Reasoning and Judgment: Critical-thinking skills are necessary for Microbiologists as they draw conclusions from experimental results through sound reasoning and judgment.