Where can a microbiologist work in Nigeria is one question that drives away potential students from studying microbiology.
Due to this negative effect, microbiologists are becoming scarce in the health industry.
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms and other forms of microscopic life. Bacteria, fungi, algae, viruses, prions, and other nonliving biological particles are all studied in microbiology.
A microbiologist is a scientist who studies the characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, viruses, prions, and fungi.
Microbiologists are important because they study organisms that cause diseases and environmental damage, and they are an important aspect of maintaining health in any society.
We’ll discuss further in this article about where a Microbiologist in Nigeria can work.
Duties of a Microbiologist
Tasks differ depending on your area of expertise.
Clinical scientists working in microbiology, for example, will be involved in infection prevention, diagnosis, and control, whereas those working in manufacturing may be involved in quality control, looking for signs of contamination.
Depending on your field of expertise, you may need to:
- Microorganisms must be monitored and identified.
- Monitor microorganisms in a variety of environments
- Monitor and evaluate samples from various sources
- Follow regular sampling schedules within a specific environment test samples using a variety of identification methods, including molecular techniques
- Create novel techniques, products, and processes
- Create and plan methods to prevent disease transmission create and register new medicines, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and pharmaceutical products.
- New medicines, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and pharmaceutical products are developed and registered
- Clinical trials to plan, implement, and evaluate new products
- Collect samples from various environments, such as agricultural sites, and create products such as enzymes, vitamins, hormones, and antimicrobials
- Grow microbial cultures for use in the food and beverage industry or agriculture use specialized computer software to conduct studies
- Oversee and manage laboratory work
Where Can a Microbiologist Work in Nigeria ?
In Nigeria, a Microbiologist can work in a variety of fields. They are as follows:
Field work
Microbiologists work outside of laboratories as well. These ones collect samples outside of the laboratory to study microorganisms in order to improve public health and track diseases.
Environmental Science
Environmental microbiologists are employed by a large number of companies in Nigeria.
They are involved in issues such as climate change, pollution, waste, green energy, heat, and other processes that have a direct impact on the environment.
Environmental microbiologists are scientists who work in the field of environmental science.
They ensure that the environment does not become polluted, and they develop vaccines against microorganisms that are harmful to the environment.
Healthcare Organization government agencies such as NAFDAC
A microbiologist can work in a variety of healthcare organizations, including SON (standard organization of Nigeria), NAFDAC, and WHO, which employ a large number of microbiologists each year.
These are regulatory organizations in charge of ensuring that goods/products are fit for consumption.
A Microbiologist works in regulatory affairs, ensuring the quality and safety of vitamins, vaccines, antibiotics, toiletries, and antiseptics.
Microbiologists also detect harmful microorganisms in water, food, dairy, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products in;
- Public health organizations
- Environmental organizations
- Food and drink industries
- Forensic science laboratories
Pharmaceutical Company
The pharmaceutical sector is the most popular field in microbiology; a microbiologist can work as a researcher in a pharmacy, and they can also create vaccines in a pharmaceutical laboratory because microbiologists are responsible for studying disease-causing viruses and bacteria in order to develop antibiotics to combat them.
Pharmaceutical companies work to create medicines that aid in disease prevention and treatment.
A microbiologist’s services are required to assist with the analysis of microorganisms that cause diseases and components.
They collaborate with drug manufacturers and serve as the company’s brand ambassadors.
Clinical agents are microbiologists and other researchers who work as brand ambassadors for pharmaceutical companies and help to expand the solution base of their company’s products/drugs.
They are also involved in the maintenance of the quality and efficiency of pharmaceutical drugs.
Clinics and hospitals
Microbiologists are needed in hospitals and clinics as laboratory assistants. They perform tests on people and patients in hospitals, making them an alternative to medical laboratory scientists.
Public health/environmental health
Microbiologists attempt to explain and monitor environmental health and other disease-causing phenomena.
A large number of microbiologists work in hospitals, medical schools, clinical laboratories, and other health-care settings.
Microbiologists’ roles and responsibilities in public health include the following:
- Analyzing samples taken from patients or the general population, including bodily fluids, for experiments or tests.
- Identifying pathogenic microbes that are harmful to the human body
- Various types of samples are cultured and examined.
- presenting findings reports
- Helping nurses, doctors, and other health care workers with patient care.
Academic work in higher education institutions
A microbiologist can work as a lecturer or researcher in academia. Microbiologists in academia spend their time conducting experiments, analyzing results, writing articles, and publishing.
These experiments and processes frequently take years to complete.
A microbiologist’s job in academia also includes educating the public on facts that will help them live better lives.
Microbiologists will become extinct if there are no teachers willing to take on the responsibility of training people to work in that field.
Petroleum industry
A microbiologist in this field can contribute to the use of microorganisms in the activation and modification of raw petroleum or crude oil, as well as refined petroleum products.
Their work application can be seen in oil spills, where they help to eliminate oil slicks by using microorganisms to clean up the affected area, whether ashore or offshore. This is known as bioremediation.
These microbiologists are extremely important in the refinery’s refining of oil products because this discipline falls under Environmental Microbiology.
A petroleum industry microbiologist can be used for checking and examining oilfield microorganisms that can cause consumption of oil/gas pipelines; Perhaps you are also interested in using microorganisms to recover extra oil from spent oil supplies or in using microorganisms to convert non-recoverable unrefined petroleum to methane.
Agro-processing firms
Agro-processing companies are one of the most common industries in which a microbiologist can work in Nigeria or elsewhere.
This industry is concerned with ensuring that the proper preservative methods are used.
There is no doubt that the action of these microbes causes food spoilage, and having a better understanding of microorganisms will give one a better ground to take the necessary steps to promote production in agro-processing companies and to ensure a minimized loss caused by microbes.
Beverage Units
Not every aspect of microorganisms is negative. There are many industries that rely on the actions of microorganisms to function properly.
Beverage companies are one of these industries that sees the positive aspects of microorganisms.
The action of some important microbes causes product fermentation, which is an important stage in the beverage industry.
This industry definitely needs the expertise of someone (microbiologist) who studies and comprehends the effects of these microbes.
Conclusion
Microbiology may not be the most lucrative profession in Nigeria today, but it is certainly one of the most valued and important and without a doubt one of the most lucrative and well-paying courses in Nigeria.
Also, microbiology’s importance has grown significantly in recent years, as has the demand for microbiologists.
Experts in this field easily integrate into various sectors, and the profession’s dynamism has created more opportunities for graduates in the field in Nigeria today.
If you are a recent graduate, you can easily make N100,000 per month.
Microbiology has many branches, which is why you can find Microbiologists in almost every company in Nigeria. Microbiologists are in high demand because microorganisms are everywhere.