Microbiology

Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

Prospects

In 2010, six months after graduation, just over 40% of microbiology graduates had entered employment in the UK or overseas, as well as 7% who were combining work and further study. Of these graduates in employment, 15% went to work in scientific research, analysis and development, with 17% going into techncial and other professional roles.

Types of work typically undertaken by microbiology graduates include: investigating diseases of humans, animals and plants; developing medicines and healthcare products; monitoring and preventing pollution; ensuring safety and quality of food; and medicines manufacture.

Microbiology graduates can also enter totally unrelated fields such as finance, retail and management - employers are very interested in science graduates as they generally have good analytical and problem-solving skills.

Where are the jobs?

Microbiology-related careers are found in a diverse range of employment sectors and typical employers include:

• healthcare organisations such as The National Health Service (NHS);
• environmental organisations;
• industry - food and drink, pharmaceutical, toiletry, and biotechnology companies;
• publicly funded research organisations
• higher education institutions.

The biotechnology sector employs around 26,000 people and is largely made up of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The food and drink industry employs scientists to develop new products and processes for the manufacture of food and equipment.

The following sectors may provide a possible career path for microbiology graduates:

• Science - scientists work in industry, the health service, government establishments, research and educational institutions.
• Health - the UK health sector employs approximately two million people across a range of organisations within the public, independent and voluntary sectors.
• Education - includes schools, further and higher education. Many scientists are employed in universities to carry out research or in schools as teachers.

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Microbiologist
• Biomedical scientist
• Haematologist
• Scientific laboratory technician
• Toxicologist
• Technical brewer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Ecologist
• Forensic scientist
• Public analyst
• Research scientist (life science)
• Scientific journalist
• Water quality scientist

For some of the jobs mentioned above it will be necessary to undertake a higher degree in order to specialise further. You may also need to get some relevant work experience during your degree course which relates to the area of work to give you an advantage when applying for jobs.

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

You can find more about the skills you develop during your course, the jobs listed above, plus case studies and where to find these jobs at Prospects.

Included with the permission of AGCAS. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk