Microbiology: All You Need To Know About The Next Big Thing In Healthcare

1. Your Starting Job Titles & Positions

When you graduate with your degree in microbiology, you will start work either directly as a junior microbiologist or a laboratory analyst.

As a microbiologist, your work will revolve around planning and conducting research projects as well as experiments to reach breakthroughs. As a newcomer, you will mostly help in the research and development phase of projects.

As a laboratory analyst, you will be in charge of conducting the majority of experiments while conducting analysis and drawing insights from the results to help chart the progress of the research project.

2. Your Responsibilities & Day To Day Tasks

As a microbiologist, your job will be dynamic and varied as you study microscopic organisms that cause diseases.

From identifying to researching viruses, bacteria, and fungi, your main aim is to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases as well as create contingencies to fight against outbreaks.

To accomplish this, most of your work will be conducted in laboratories and offices where scientific experiments and analysis are conducted.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will include using precision equipment from microscopes to spectrometers to classify microorganisms from various sources and draw insights from the various analysis conducted.

Preparing technical reports and recommendations is also a requirement to help management make better decisions on the procedure ahead.

Depending on where you work such as a pharmaceutical company or a food manufacturer, you might be needed to head down to the plants or field to conduct onsite experiments and learn more about the product. This can be helping to develop genetically engineered crops or to help combat an outbreak found in cattle.

3. Your Career Progression

As a microbiologist, your career progression will depend on the type of company or organisation, you are working in.

If it is a commercial institution, you can expect to move up the ranks from a research associate and laboratory manager to becoming a lead research scientist.

If you wish to go further, you can either study for a medical degree to become a doctor or specialise further in the microbiology field with a PhD and become a laboratory director or professor.

4. Your Expected Salary

As a junior microbiologist, you can expect to make $55,000 at entry-level and up to $93,000 as you gain more experience and years under your belt.

However, as you climb the ranks and eventually make it to a laboratory director, you can expect to pull in anywhere from $110,000 to over $160,000 annually as compensation.

5. University Courses To Launch A Career As A Microbiologist

To embark on a fulfilling career as a microbiologist, the most direct route is to study for a degree in microbiology. This is also most commonly the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in microbiology.

Your coursework will include a wide curriculum that will include principles of microbiology, immunology, microbes, and infection as well as laboratory research techniques. In addition, you can also be specialised in key disciplines of microbiology including clinical research, food technology, and medicine.

However, if you plan on accelerating your career in microbiology and eventually becoming a laboratory director or scientist, you will need to advance your education with a postgraduate degree, namely a PhD.

You will build upon your knowledge for the next 3 or 4 years and learn even more about subjects including virology, molecular bacteriology, and microbial genetics. Allowing you to conduct research in even more specialised areas.

Keen on taking the next step and pursuing a career in microbiology?

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