Why study Microbiology and what is the future of the subject?

I chose Microbiology because of my desire to be a lifelong learner. Bacterial species and microbes are everywhere and are thriving in their environments. Due to their plentiful conditions, they will continuously modify their genes and therefore become resistant to vaccines and attack the hosts' immune system. This ultimately sparked my interest in Microbiology early in my academic career. The faculty and staff within the Microbiology department are exceptional and are great teachers. They are excellent resources for students who are interested in partaking in research while here at SHUST. There are endless possibilities with a degree in Microbiology and that is what I love most. It can be a good starting point to a career in Medicine or any other graduate program that one hopes to attend.

• 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.