The recent pandemic has brought the world of microbiology into the limelight because of its significance in the development of a vaccine for COVID-19. Microbiology is the study of tiny living organisms and their impact on the living world. The domain overlaps with several other fields such as medicine, pathology, immunology, and biochemistry.
Depending on your experience and previous qualifications, you can find numerous career prospects in the microbiology domain. Here are a few interesting career prospects to explore if you have decided to study M.Sc. Microbiology.
1. Biotechnologists – Biotechnologists are responsible for manipulating the genetic structures of microorganisms to create new bioproducts such as medicines, superfoods, or vaccines. Biotechnologists can work in a wide variety of domains such as agriculture, the food, and beverage industry, or clinical medicine. They combine their microbiological expertise with engineering knowledge to come up with advanced biological technologies.
2. Clinical laboratory scientists – Most clinical laboratory scientists are employed in the global healthcare industry. They analyze and process tissue samples and biological specimens to determine the cause of an infection in a patient. They are also responsible for finding and developing drugs that override the genetics of the disease-causing microorganisms. They also develop analytical tools and techniques such as mass spectrophotometry.
3. Food scientists and technologists – Food technologists and technicians test different food samples for disease-causing pathogens or spoilage microbes. They also test these samples for the presence of different viruses and fungi to help the company meet their hygiene standards to maintain high levels of food safety and food quality.
4. Immunologists – Immunologists for pharma and drug companies to study the disease-causing and healing properties of different microbes such as viruses and bacteria. The research areas for these scientists include biodefence, biofilms, genetics, vaccine development, the effect of pathogens, and immunogenic pathways in the human body.
5. Mycologists – Mycologists are kind of immunologists that restrict their study of microbes only to disease-causing and antibiotic-producing fungi. They can work in clinical laboratories to produce anti-fungal drugs and vaccines or environmental laboratories to analyze air samples for different fungal spores.
6. Water quality technicians – Local municipal agencies, water treatment plans, and health agencies hire microbiologists as water quality technicians to test different water sources for their portability. Most often, these scientists test water samples for the presence of E. coli which is a strong indicator of fecal contamination and water-borne pathogens.
Some other microbiological positions include cosmetic scientists, pharmaceutical technologists, science writers, and microbiology professors.
Apart from these roles, you can also explore other positions like technical support specialists, virologists, etc. If you want to pursue industry positions instead of a scientific career, you can also look for sales and marketing positions in bio-product companies.
Invest in a good microbiology program today to enhance your career opportunities in the field of microbiology.
