Microbiology offers a repertoire of career avenues for aspirants

Dr. Neeraj Mahindroo

Recent growth forecasts indicate that health sciences sector will achieve a phenomenal growth in the coming decade and will emerge as a high demand, high reward industry. This means that there is an increasing 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 novel antibiotics and advanced therapeutics. 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 deals with the structure, function, importance, application and the existence of the microscopic organisms.

Microbiologists are skilled professionals who know how to exploit the beneficial microbes efficiently for the betterment of social and public health, concurrently know how to prevent the harmful microbes to cause fatal diseases.

They are the key contributor of research and development of 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 increases the scope of this field further is the involvement of microbiology in various fields such as pharmacy, medicine, clinical research, agriculture, environment, food and dairy industry, nanotechnology, chemical technology to name a few. Moreover, as per industry reports, employment of microbiologists is projected to grow 3 per cent over the next 10 years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

An aspiring microbiologist has a pool of options and industries to select 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 detection of disease. Clinical and medical microbiologist, dedicated to research for the betterment of public health could be classified as a medical scientist.

 ·         Environmental microbiologists explore how microorganisms interact with the environment and each other. This may involve the application of microbes to detoxify our environment from pollutants and xenobiotic contamination, and utilisation of microbes to increase the agricultural productivity.  

 ·         Industrial microbiologists investigate to solve problems related to industrial production processes. They may examine how microbes can be manipulated to produce certain medically and commercially important compounds in an efficient and economically cheaper way.

 ·         Food microbiologists, working in the food industry, efficiently use microbes to develop high quality, nutritious food (Yogurt, Cheese, Sauerkraut etc.) and beverages (beer, wine, Champagne etc.) as per the consumer and market requirements. They are also dedicated to identify, control the microbial spoilage of food and food borne infections such as, Typhoid, Staphylococcal food poisoning.

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

The writer is Dean, School of Health Sciences, UPES, Dehradun