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What do you do in a day being a microbiologist
Im a 9th grader and ive always been fascinated with biology and my dream job was to a microbiologist. #biology
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Erin’s Answer
I agree with Yarek. There are many different sub-specialties of Microbiologists. I work in the Microbiology-Quality Control department of a pharmaceutical company. No two of my days are the same. This is not the case for some microbiologists doing routine monitoring of the water, environment, water, or product samples.
In my case, I help test raw materials destined for the manufacturing department for microbes. These same tests are done on the products after manufacturing. I also do some genetic testing of the mammalian cells going into the manufacturing process.
My company uses bioreactors to create our products. It is becoming more common for new pharmaceutical products to be antibodies or even mRNA rather than a standard chemistry process. These biological molecules require a biological factory, such as a bioreactor.
If you're interested in microbiology, I would also recommend a good foundation in genetics.
For better or worse in Biology, everything is interconnected. It is almost impossible to study anything from microbes to human disease without a basic understanding of genetics, biochemistry, physics, and more. This is why the recommended high school and college courses for microbiologists seem to be so disconnected from each other. If this seems intimidating, don't worry! There's plenty of time for you to learn and specialize, and fortunately for you, there are a lot of high quality resources available on the internet. Below, I've included a link to how bioreactors and PCR work.
https://www.infors-ht.com/en/blog/what-is-a-bioreactor-and-how-does-it-work/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsu3Kz9NYo
In my case, I help test raw materials destined for the manufacturing department for microbes. These same tests are done on the products after manufacturing. I also do some genetic testing of the mammalian cells going into the manufacturing process.
My company uses bioreactors to create our products. It is becoming more common for new pharmaceutical products to be antibodies or even mRNA rather than a standard chemistry process. These biological molecules require a biological factory, such as a bioreactor.
If you're interested in microbiology, I would also recommend a good foundation in genetics.
For better or worse in Biology, everything is interconnected. It is almost impossible to study anything from microbes to human disease without a basic understanding of genetics, biochemistry, physics, and more. This is why the recommended high school and college courses for microbiologists seem to be so disconnected from each other. If this seems intimidating, don't worry! There's plenty of time for you to learn and specialize, and fortunately for you, there are a lot of high quality resources available on the internet. Below, I've included a link to how bioreactors and PCR work.
Erin recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Tiara’s Answer
What do you do in a day being a microbiologist?
Like stated above there are many different fields to Microbiology.
I currently work in a Covid testing lab. So what I do is prep samples to be put through PCR to see if the patient has the virus or not. I have also worked with Cancer T-cells. and for that you have to know how to create the growth medium, count the cells, do assays, and take care of and feed the cells.
Like stated above there are many different fields to Microbiology.
I currently work in a Covid testing lab. So what I do is prep samples to be put through PCR to see if the patient has the virus or not. I have also worked with Cancer T-cells. and for that you have to know how to create the growth medium, count the cells, do assays, and take care of and feed the cells.
Updated
Yarek’s Answer
Well, there are many different kinds of microbiologists. Here are some:
- Many who work daily as microbiologists do things like QC (Quality Control) testing for consumer products and food. This means setting up and running a rigorous QC program to be sure ingredients meet certain limits on the amount of bacteria present. Ingredients (that go into a manufacturing process) and products (final sales to a customer) must be tested to be sure they are safe and don't cause illness or harm. Even things you may not think of (like fats that go into lipstick or eyeliner) must be tested to be sure they don't harm customers. The same is true for products that must be sterile (like bandages, or hardware).
- Environmental testing. Every water facility must strictly check its incoming supply, adjust its treatment process accordingly, and verify that water going to homes and businesses meets quality standards. This requires a lot of microbiologists! The same going for wastewater treatment. Lakes, rivers, and beaches are also tested to be sure the water people swim in is safe.
- Medical. This is a big one. Although many tests have changed, there is still a need for people who can culture and identify pathogens- bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses that cause disease. Many hospitals and testing facilities have their own microbiologists, and then there are county, state, and federal labs too.
- Research! Most research takes place at universities or large institutions, and may be coupled with some of the labs above. Funding can be a problem though.
https://collegegrad.com/careers/microbiologists
https://blog.microbiologics.com/14-career-paths-for-microbiologists/
https://asm.org/Articles/2018/November/Careers-in-Microbiology-and-the-Microbial-Sciences
- Many who work daily as microbiologists do things like QC (Quality Control) testing for consumer products and food. This means setting up and running a rigorous QC program to be sure ingredients meet certain limits on the amount of bacteria present. Ingredients (that go into a manufacturing process) and products (final sales to a customer) must be tested to be sure they are safe and don't cause illness or harm. Even things you may not think of (like fats that go into lipstick or eyeliner) must be tested to be sure they don't harm customers. The same is true for products that must be sterile (like bandages, or hardware).
- Environmental testing. Every water facility must strictly check its incoming supply, adjust its treatment process accordingly, and verify that water going to homes and businesses meets quality standards. This requires a lot of microbiologists! The same going for wastewater treatment. Lakes, rivers, and beaches are also tested to be sure the water people swim in is safe.
- Medical. This is a big one. Although many tests have changed, there is still a need for people who can culture and identify pathogens- bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses that cause disease. Many hospitals and testing facilities have their own microbiologists, and then there are county, state, and federal labs too.
- Research! Most research takes place at universities or large institutions, and may be coupled with some of the labs above. Funding can be a problem though.
Yarek recommends the following next steps: