DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED BIOLOGY

Career Scope:

Biotechnology:

Biotechnology is an emerging career field in India related to Food & Nutrition, Medicines & Healthcare, Forensic Sciences and other allied fields. The scope is wide and offers opportunities in the fields of both research and engineering. One can pursue higher studies in Biotechnology, Microbiology, Bioinformatics, Food Science and Technology and Life Sciences. He or she can get a job in Research and Development (R&D), can work in DBT, DST, ICMR, MoFPI, FSSAI laboratories as medical Scientists, epidemiologists, research scientists, Bio-IT services, etc. or can go for teaching in different colleges and Universities.

The field also has scope in the areas like Intellectual Property Research and Patenting, scientific writing or medical writing, drug designing, novel microbe structure modeling, data mining, jobs in government & private sectors, Industries like Biopharma, Food, Pharmaceutical Industries, animal husbandry, environmental industries, etc. The work scope can range from research, sales, marketing, administration, quality control, breeders, technical support etc. There is also prospect of working as a Laboratory Technician/Assistant in government and private diagnostic laboratories.

One can also become an entrepreneur with ideas ranging from agri-biotech, marine-biotech, medical-biotech, Bio-IT services, etc. Research associates also provide an interesting career that allows to carry out experiments under the instruction of established Scientists.

Microbiology:

It’s the start of a new era, when people are finally ready to embrace the microbial world.’

Microbes live with us, and within us, but are invisible to the human eye. In fact, for every single human cell, there are ten microbes in the average human body. Most of them are not harmful; they help us to fight against infection, digestion and even treatment of depression.  Outside too, they can be our friends – curdling milk (Lactobacillus), cleaning up oil spills (Alcanivorax), and fighting nuclear contamination (Geobacter). This is a good thing, the bad as we know is that microbes are a significant threat.

Microbiology is a broad discipline of biology that works with the functions, structure, uses, and existence of microscopic organisms. Microbiology overlaps with various other degree areas of biology like molecular biology, genetics & immunology. The scope of Microbiology is huge because of the involvement of Microbiology in various fields such as Pharmacy, Medicine, clinical research, agriculture, environment, dairy industry, water industry, nanotechnology & chemical technology.

In the field of agriculture, microbiologists act as environmental and health specialists to study the role of microbes in plant disease, pest control, nutrition and soil fertility.

In the field of medicine and health care, the work is usually associated with the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of illnesses associated with microbes and the production of vaccines.

In the fields of dairy and food industries, they can be employed by big companies like Mother Dairy, Amul, Nestle, Reliance, Hindustan Unilever, etc. They can choose to work as Dairy scientists, Dairy equipment repairers, Dairy managers and dairy consultants, etc. The role of a Food Microbiologist is to test the raw materials, in-process and finished products to make sure the consumers are safe to consume the food. This is also required by the FDA through records during the audit.

Industrial and Pharmaceutical Microbiology may be defined as the study of the large-scale and profit-motivated production of microorganisms or their products for direct use, or as inputs in the manufacture of other goods. The job roles for a Microbiologist based on a qualification: An undergraduate degree in Microbiology gives the opportunity to work at science laboratories and pathology labs.

PG degree in microbiology can work in Microbiology based industries like pharmacy, dairy, breweries, distilleries, enzyme, etc. and you also can pursue PhD

Students who complete their PhD can take up teaching at universities and PG colleges. They can also take up post-doctoral research with good fellowship which is generally offered by funding agencies like UGC, CSIR, ICMR, DST, DBT, etc.

Universities and colleges employ microbiologists as researchers and teachers.

Food Science and Technology:

The food industry is one of the largest industries in the world. People will never stop eating (essential for survival).

India is, of course, a growing country where there are around 500 million high and medium-class consumers, so there is no doubt that this profession is growing on a daily basis. The professionals in this field can easily get jobs in the fields of food manufacturing, plants, research and development labs, catering companies, food wholesalers, restaurants, and hospitals. People can choose their job according to their specialization. There are also some regulatory positions for which candidates can be hired due to the introduction of the new food law. Hence, it will always be in demand and recession-proof.