• Question: Where would be a good place to do work experience with a view to being a microbiologist?

    Asked by danrumford to Cat, Daz, Holly, Johnson, Pamela on 16 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Darren Braddick

      Darren Braddick answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi Dan,

      Well most companies in the life sciences (so, biology, some chemistry) will probably use microorganisms in some way or another. The best thing to do would be to contact companies in those areas and go from there. In actual fact, my supervisor has taken school students for summer work within our lab. If you can contact academic people at university, it is not at all impossible that you can get experience with them.

      I couldn’t stress how amazing an experience that would be – and it would really help your career should you continue in science!

      I hope that helps, please let me know if I can help otherwise,

      Daz

    • Photo: Holly Shelton

      Holly Shelton answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi Dan

      When I was doing my Alevels I did some work experience in the diagnositic labs of the local hospital as this gives you a good overview of all sorts of microbiology.

      Holly

    • Photo: Johnson Soronnadi

      Johnson Soronnadi answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi Danrumford,
      Depending on the route or area you wish to specialize. There are two major routes: Medical Microbiology and industrial Microbiology. A good place for medical microbiology would be a diagnostic Microbiology laboratory, which will give you all the necessary experience. Most Universities organise placement for students with laboratories in their areas.

      Johnson.

    • Photo: Pamela Lithgow

      Pamela Lithgow answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi Dan,
      Those suggestions sound great. I think you should definitely give it a go, you are obviously very bright (with all the questions you are asking) so you could do really well if you get some experience and go on to university!
      Good luck
      Pam 🙂

    • Photo: Cat O'Connor

      Cat O'Connor answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Oh Dan, great idea.

      I didn’t do mico work experience until I was in uni so fair play for thinking of doing it now! Any factory that makes food, produces medical equipment, even computer factories will have some sort of a micro lab. So while a hospital lab or a uni might be the first place you would think of, any bit of experience is fantastic so try and think a little ouside the box too.

      If you really want to do it, I would draft a very nice, short and sweet letter to the manager of the lab/company. If you could, I’d also ask your science teacher to write you a reference in which she would say how interested you are in Science (something that all us scientists here are very aware of!) and that you’d really love any bit of experience. I would then send it to a good few places, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And if more than one say yes, yippee, you’ll have loads of experience!

      I hope you manage to get some, I know you’ll love it!

      Best of luck with it,

      Cat

Comments

  • Photo: danrumford

    danrumford commented on :

    Thanks for your answers. Did you go anywhere on work experience that you thought was particularly useful?

  • Photo: Cat

    Cat commented on :

    We didn’t have work experience in my shcool, rubbish right? But every summer in Uni I tried to get some experience in science….and that is on of the reasons my ‘job’ list is so long. I think that no matter job experience you get, you def learn from it. Like I learned from a summer working with plants, that I like plants but could never work with them because they use so many bees to pollinate them. And I hate bees!!

    I know my little sister always liked animals and thought about being a vet but she spent two weeks doing work experience at a vets and she learned that while she liked all the operating and stuff, she did not like putting animals to sleep! Something very important to learn I think you’ll agree.

    Cat