Microbiologists examining cultures on a Petri dish.

A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists. One of the microbiologists main research aim is to find out how microbes affect the world around them.

[edit] Educational Requirements

You generally need a doctoral degree to be a microbiologist. A bachelor's degree in Microbiology gives you the option of being a technician, but opportunities for advancement are limited. A master's degree in microbiology qualifies a person for many jobs in industry, teaching, and applied research. At the most it takes 10 years to earn a doctoral degree in microbiology. Along with that, to work in a laboratory (clinical laboratory license), a person must have lab experience and a combination of academic courses.

Specialists in the broad field of microbiology include:

• Bacteriologists, who work in the field of bacteriology and study bacteria.
• Environmental microbiologists - work in the field of environmental microbiology and study microbial processes in the environment.
• Food microbiologists, who work in the food industry and study pathogenic microorganisms that cause foodborne illness and spoilage.
• Industrial microbiologists, who generally work in biotechnology and study microorganisms that produce useful products.
• Medical microbiologists, medical practitioners (physicians) who have chosen to specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of microbial diseases in patients.
• Mycologists, work in the field of mycology and study fungi.
• Protozoologists, who work in the field of protozoology and study protists.
• Virologists, who work in the field of virology and study viruses.
• Microbial epidemiologists, who study the role of microorganisms in health and illness.
• Immunologists, who study how the body defends itself against viruses, bacteria, and etc.

For a list of microbiologists see:

[edit] See also

• Environmental microbiology
• Food microbiology
• Oral microbiology
• Virology

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