The growing field of microbiology offers a pool of career avenues for aspirants

Given the growth forecasts, this coming decade will mark phenomenal growth for health sciences, which is going to become a high demand, high reward industry. This means that there is a need for higher educational institutions to reinvent the education-to-employment structure and produce professionals with the required skills and credentials for the challenging health sciences careers of the 21st century.

The health sector, in the current scenario, is heavily dependent on microorganisms for conducting research and developing newer drug types and antibiotics. In line with this, Microbiology as a discipline is in high demand and is emerging as one of the most sought after careers for students pursuing health sciences. It is a broad discipline of Biology that works with the structure, function, uses and existence of microscopic organisms. Microbiologists are needed to research and develop new medicines and treatments, such as vaccines and antibiotics. In addition, they also help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop drugs that are produced with the aid of microorganisms.

A career in microbiology can be a lucrative option in India as well as abroad. What further increases the scope of this field is the involvement of microbiology in various fields such as Pharmacy, Medicine, Clinical Research, Agriculture, Dairy Industry, Water Industry, Nanotechnology, Chemical Technology to name a few. Moreover, as per industry reports, the employment of microbiologists is projected to grow three percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

An aspiring microbiologist has a pool of options and industries to choose from. Here are a few interesting avenues in the field of microbiology that students can look out for:

• Clinical microbiologists perform a wide range of clinical laboratory tests on specimens collected from plants, humans, and animals to aid in the detection of disease. Clinical and medical microbiologists whose work involves directly researching human health may be classified as medical scientists.
• Environmental microbiologists study how microorganisms interact with the environment and each other. They may study the use of microbes to clean up areas contaminated by heavy metals or study how microbes could aid crop growth.

• Industrial microbiologists study and solve problems related to industrial production processes. They may examine microbial growth found in the pipes of a chemical factory, monitor the impact industrial waste has on the local ecosystem, or oversee the microbial activities used in cheese production to ensure quality.
• Food microbiologists work in the food industry and study microorganisms that cause foodborne illness and spoilage. Scientists working in food and dairy microbiology try to prevent microbial spoilage of food and the transmission of foodborne diseases such as botulism and salmonellosis. 

Additionally, other areas of research and development are expected to further increase the employment opportunities for microbiologists. 

Note: The views expressed in this article are that of University of Petroleum and Energy Studies [UPES] and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha