Overview:
In this article you will be learning about the field of microbiology. This article will answer your questions about microbiology, What is it? What are the career options? What are the skills needed? and much more.
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and many more. They study the different aspects of such microorganisms which include the physiological, genetic and biochemical. A microbiologist identifies and controls infectious diseases, tests new medicines and treatments for diseases using different techniques, understands and explores the functionality of the microorganism and the ways they produce substances such as antibodies, hormones etc.
Biomedical Scientist: A biomedical scientist is a person who researches on the human body. They design different experiments to understand and test the chronic diseases, pathogens in our body. To be a biomedical scientist you will need a bachelor's degree. This lasts about 4 years. A bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, life sciences, biomedical engineering. It is important that you have research experience during your years of studies. This can be done by taking up internships and jobs as laboratory assistants. After your bachelors, you will be applying for your masters. Though this is optional. You can do your masters in any biology related field. Then you will be completing your PhD in biomedical science. After completing your studies, you will be applying for the certifications. In the United States of America you can get the certification of Molecular Diagnostics Technologist (MDT) certification through American Medical Technologists (AMT). Though in some countries there are no certifications needed such as India.
Microbiologist: Microbiologists are people who study microorganisms. They conduct experiments and research on procedures regarding medicines and diseases. There are different types of microbiologists. To become a microbiologist you need to have a bachelor's degree in microbiology, biology, biochemistry, life sciences or any other biology related field. While doing the bachelors, it is important that you gain experience in the laboratory. After completing your bachelors, you will need to apply for masters and then PhD. They both will be in microbiology. Note that a certification is not required for microbiology, though if you are planning to become a microbiologist in pharmaceutical or medical it is preferred.
Clinical microbiologists: They conduct clinical laboratory and research on plants, animals and humans to detect and understand different diseases.
Environmental microbiologist: They study the relationships and interactions of microorganisms with their environment.
Industrial microbiologists: They study the industrial production processes that are related to microorganisms. They analyse the microbial growth found in pipes of a chemical factory, monitor the impact of industrial waste on the environment and the microbial activities in different products and processes.
Public health microbiologists: They track and control diseases. And provide laboratory services to health departments and programs.
After understanding the career options in microbiology. We will understand the skills required in the field of microbiology include:
Critical Thinking Skills: Critical Thinking skills are important as you need to draw reasonable and valid conclusions from your experiments, and use scientific reasoning to justify them. You will also need to have problem solving skills to help with the same.
Communications Skills: Communication skills are important as you need to effectively communicate your ideas, research, data and conclusions to others.
Math Skills: For the field of microbiology, mathematics skills are important as it requires a lot of calculations and equations.
Detail Oriented: It is important to be meticulous so that the research and work that you have done is thorough. Furthermore, microbiology is a very detailed oriented field.
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