I was surprised that a wildlife biology degree would allow me to maintain a career in microbiology. I had started as a microbiology tech and once I received my degree,...[full comment]
I love the people I work with. We come from different backgrounds and are all different ages but we all enjoy what we're doing and we work together well. I...[full comment]
1: Take a variety of science classes in college to give yourself at least a grounding in a lot of different scientific disciplines and if you're in high school, take...[full comment]
School and Career Surprises: Tips From People on the Job
Each comment from a microbiologist includes their career and school satisfaction ratings.
Career: "I was surprised that a wildlife biology degree would allow me to maintain a career in microbiology. I had started as a microbiology tech and once I received my degree, I was promoted to head microbiologist of the lab I had been working for while earning my degree. I was also surprised to see that many of the wildlife biology positions that are open require a lot of experience beyond school."
School: Studied Wildlife Fisheries Biology And Management at University Of Wyoming in Wyoming; completed Bachelor degree in 2012. Career: Microbiologist, female, 3 years of experience, currently based in Wyoming.
Best & Worst Things About This Career
As reported by people currently doing the job
"I love the people I work with. We come from different backgrounds and are all different ages but we all enjoy what we're doing and we work together well. I also like the fact that every day is not the same. Some days I'm out in the lab more, helping with a new project, while other days I'm at my computer, analyzing data or looking at literature. I don't like some of the administrative software I have to work with. You would think the government would have the best software available to do its day-to-day business, but that isn't the case."
School : BS, Biochemistry and Recombinant Genetics, Western Kentucky University MS, Microbiology, University of Georgia Career: Microbiologist, currently based in Georgia.;
Tips for Succeeding in This Career
Helpful Info From Insiders
"1: Take a variety of science classes in college to give yourself at least a grounding in a lot of different scientific disciplines and if you're in high school, take the hardest science classes you can; you'll be glad you did when you're in college. 2: Don't go straight to grad school from college. Work for a couple of years to give yourself a break from school, to get some really good experience, and to give you a better idea what area you might want to focus on. 3: Find people on the internet or in your community that have jobs you might like. Email them, talk to them, find out about what they do and see if it sounds interesting to you. Sometimes it's hard to translate a job to a specific school major."
School : BS, Biochemistry and Recombinant Genetics, Western Kentucky University MS, Microbiology, University of Georgia Career: Microbiologist, currently based in Georgia.;
