Re: What type of schooling does it take to become a virologist?

Amy,

So, you want to be a Virologist. The questions you need to consider are "What kind of Virologist do I want to be?" - "Do I want to be doing something, anything with viruses in a laboratory where they are being studied or diagnosed, like work as a Clinical or Research laboratory technician"? - "Do I want to be a staff virologist in a scientific laboratory, a clinical laboratory or a reference diagnostic laboratory, or do I want to be a professor in a college microbiology department or the academic virology department of a medical school"? Depending on how you answer this incomplete list of questions determines what kind of schooling you need to get the job.

The entry level, where you could find out more about the practical matters surrounding becoming a virologist could be done while you are in high school. If you live near a research laboratory where viruses are studied, a large hospital that employs a clinical virologist, a health department where occasionally tests for viruses are performed, or a large university that has a medical school and a graduate school, you may be able to work as a "student intern" in someone's laboratory. Many school systems have such intern programs to expose their students to future professions. You probably will not be able to work with anything dangerous or anything where some patient's safety depends on what you do, but you will be able to talk to technicians and virologists and find out how they got to where they are.

The next level would be while you are in college. The college (you choose) may have a biology department where viruses are studied or they have a big microbiology department that includes some virology professors. You could take courses in these departments and maybe work part time in a laboratory as you complete your requirements for a degree. Many research and clinical virology laboratories hire technicians who have majored in Biology, Chemistry or Microbiology.

Getting a master's degree in biology, clinical microbiology or maybe even virologys will probably get you a job as a higher paid technician but the work will probably be very similar to that of the entry level technician.

Now, if you want to make a scientific contribution to virology you need an advanced degree like an MD or PhD degree. There are many outstanding universities that have very good virology departments. Some of them also have Colleges and Graduate schools together so you can start working with real virologists right away. If you look at the web page prepared by Tara Waterman, you will see that I served as an advisor to her undergraduate Human Biology Project on Filoviruses that she did while a college student at Stanford University. She is progressing toward her goal of being a virologist by attending medical school.

If you are absolutely sure about being a virologist, you should take courses in chemistry, biology, genetics, math (especially statistics) and other academic courses your advisor recommends to get you set to apply to graduate schools so you can get a PhD.

Here's a list of graduate schools that offer degrees in virology. You will probably find out that the universities where these degrees are offered also have medical schools. Many Links on David Sander's page about Virology Graduate Programs: http://www.virol ogy.net/garryfavweb10.html#grad

You can also move into virology after you become a Medical Doctor, a Dentist, a Veterinarian, a Microbiologist or have a PhD in any of a number of other fields including Entomology, Epidemiology, Agricultural Sciences (we have plant disease virologists), and Molecular Biology.

Good luck, and I hope you become a great virologist and save us from the next big epidemic.


Art Anderson

Here are some MadSci links that relate to your question:

Become a Virologist:
http: //www.madsci.org/posts/archives/feb98/886783588.Vi.r.html

Tools used by a Virologist:
htt p://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar2000/952194561.Vi.r.html

What a Virologist Does:
htt p://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/jan2000/947356277.Vi.r.html

Math and Virologists:
htt p://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/apr2000/956254373.Vi.r.html

How to be a virologist 01:
htt p://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct2000/970946978.Vi.r.html