Activities	Investigate the growth, structure, development, and other characteristics of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, algae, or fungi. Includes medical microbiologists who study the relationship between organisms and disease or the effects of antibiotics on microorganisms.
Outlook	Average job growth
Median Income	$57,980 per year in 2006
Work Context & Conditions	Usually work regular hours in offices or laboratories and usually are not exposed to unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Those who work with dangerous organisms or toxic substances in the laboratory must follow strict safety procedures to avoid contamination. They must be exacting and thorough in their work.
Minimum Education Requirements	Bachelor's Degree
Skills	Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing, Equipment Selection, Time Management, Troubleshooting, Mathematics, Equipment Maintenance, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Operation Monitoring, Operations Analysis, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Science
Abilities	Category Flexibility, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Information Ordering, Inductive Reasoning
Interviews	Patricia Diaz

Job Category		Life, Physical, & Social Science
Job Description		Microbiologists study the growth, structure, development, and general characteristics of bacteria and other microorganisms. They examine physiological, morphological, and cultural characteristics, using microscopes, to identify microorganisms. They may isolate and make cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition; conduct chemical analyses of substances, such as acids, alcohols, and enzymes; and research the use of bacteria and microorganisms to develop vitamins, antibiotics, amino acids, grain alcohol, sugars, and polymers. Microbiologist may specialize in one of several areas: virology (the study of viruses); immunology (the study of mechanisms that fight infections); or bioinformatics (the use of computers to handle or characterize biological information, usually at the molecular level). Many microbiologists use biotechnology to advance knowledge of cell reproduction and human disease.
Working Conditions		Biological scientists (microbiologists) usually work regular hours in offices or laboratories and usually are not exposed to unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Those who work with dangerous organisms or toxic substances in the laboratory must follow strict safety procedures to avoid contamination. Some biologists depend on grant money to support their research. They may be under pressure to meet deadlines and conform to rigid grant-writing specifications when preparing proposals to seek new or extended funding.
Salary Range		Median annual earnings of microbiologists were $57,980 in 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $43,850 and $80,550. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $35,460, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $108,270. In the federal government in 2007, microbiologists in earned an average salary of $87,206.

Education Required		For biological scientists, the Ph.D. degree is usually necessary for independent research and for advancement to administrative positions. A master's degree is sufficient for some jobs in applied research or product development and for jobs in management, inspection, sales, and service. The bachelor's degree is adequate for some nonresearch jobs. Some graduates with a bachelor's degree start as biological scientists in testing and inspection, or get jobs related to biological science such as technical sales or service representatives. In some cases, graduates with a bachelor's degree are able to work in a laboratory environment on their own projects, but this is unusual. Some may work as research assistants. Others become biological technicians, medical laboratory technologists or, with courses in education, high school biology teachers. Many with a bachelor's degree in biology enter medical, dental, veterinary, or other health profession schools. Most colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in biological science, and many offer advanced degrees. Advanced degree programs include classroom and fieldwork, laboratory research, and a thesis or dissertation. Those who have advanced degrees often take temporary postdoctoral research positions that provide specialized research experience. In private industry, some may become managers or administrators. Microbiologists should be able to work independently or as part of a team and be able to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Those in private industry, especially those who aspire to management or administrative positions, should possess strong business and communication skills and be familiar with regulatory issues and marketing and management techniques. Those doing field research in remote areas must have physical stamina. A Ph.D. degree qualifies someone to do research on basic life processes or on particular medical problems or diseases, and to analyze and interpret the results of experiments on patients. It is particularly helpful for microbiologists to earn both Ph.D. and medical degrees. In addition to formal education, microbiologists usually spend several years in a postdoctoral position before they apply for permanent jobs. Postdoctoral work provides valuable laboratory experience, including experience in specific processes and techniques, such as gene splicing, which are transferable to other research projects. In some institutions, the postdoctoral position can lead to a permanent position.
Recommended High School Courses		Computers and Electronics, Biology, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Physics
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Education and Training, English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Customer and Personal Service
Certification and Licensing		None

Interest Area		Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Creativity Try out your own ideas. Independence Work alone. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Working Conditions Good working conditions. Autonomy Plan work with little supervision. Responsibility Make decisions on your own.
Skills		Monitoring Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Equipment Selection Determine the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Troubleshooting Determine what is causing an operating error and deciding what to do about it. Mathematics Use math to solve problems. Equipment Maintenance Perform routine maintenance and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings. Judgment and Decision Making Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action. Operation Monitoring Watch gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. Operations Analysis Analyze needs and product requirements to create a design. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Science Use scientific methods to solve problems.
Abilities		Category Flexibility Generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together.

Related Jobs		Veterinarian, Technologist, Medical and Clinical Laboratory, Biologist, Environmental Health Scientist, Biochemist, Physician, Surgeon, Dentist, Biologist, Secretary, Medical
Job Outlook		Biological scientists held about 87,000 jobs in 2006. Slightly more than half of all biological scientists were employed by Federal, State, and local governments. Federal biological scientists worked mainly for the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Defense and for the National Institutes of Health. Most of the rest worked in scientific research and testing laboratories, the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry, or hospitals.In addition, many biological scientists held biology faculty positions in colleges and universities. Employment of biological scientists is projected to grow about as fast as average for all occupations over the 2006-16 period, as biotechnological research and development continues to drive job growth. However, doctoral degree holders face competition for basic research positions. The Federal Government funds much basic research and development, including many areas of medical research that relate to biological science. Recent budget increases at the National Institutes of Health have led to large increases in Federal basic research and development expenditures, with research grants growing both in number and in dollar amount. Nevertheless, the increase in expenditures is expected to slow significantly over the 2006-16 projection period, resulting in a highly competitive environment for winning and renewing research grants. Furthermore, should the number of advanced degrees awarded continue to grow, applicants for research grants are likely to face even more competition. Opportunities for those with a bachelor's or master's degree in biological science are expected to be better. The number of science-related jobs in sales, marketing, and research management, for which non-Ph.D.s usually qualify, are expected to be more plentiful than independent research positions. Non-Ph.D.s also may fill positions as science or engineering technicians or health technologists and technicians. Some become high school biology teachers, while those with a doctorate in biological science may become college and university faculty. Biological and medical scientists enjoyed very rapid gains in employment between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, in part reflecting increased staffing requirements in new biotechnology companies. Employment growth should slow somewhat as increases in the number of new biotechnology firms slow and existing firms merge or are absorbed into larger ones. However, much of the basic biological research done in recent years has resulted in new knowledge, including the isolation and identification of new genes. Biological and medical scientists will be needed to take this knowledge to the next stage, which is the understanding of how certain genes function within an entire organism, so that gene therapies can be developed to treat diseases. Even pharmaceutical and other firms not solely engaged in biotechnology are expected to increasingly use biotechnology techniques, spurring employment increases for biological and medical scientists. In addition, efforts to discover new and improved ways to clean up and preserve the environment will continue to add to job growth. More biological scientists will be needed to determine the environmental impact of industry and government actions and to prevent or correct environmental problems such as the negative effects of pesticide use. Some biological scientists will find opportunities in environmental regulatory agencies; others will use their expertise to advise lawmakers on legislation to save environmentally sensitive areas. There will continue to be demand for biological scientists specializing in botany, zoology, and marine biology, but opportunities will be limited because of the small size of these fields. New industrial applications of biotechnology, such as changing how companies make ethanol for transportation fuel, also will spur demand for biological scientists.
More Information		American Society for Microbiology
References		American Society for Microbiologsits on the Internet at http://www.microbe.org/careers/what_do.asp Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Biological Scientists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos047.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/details/19-1022.00#menu