Biologist

Your tasks will depend on your specialism but you could:

• plan trials and analyse data, for example in crop production or medicine research
• study and protect endangered land and marine plants and animals
• develop new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease
• make observations, write reports and publish scientific papers
• teach students at a university or in a teaching hospital

We've identified this as a potential green job

For a biologist to be a green job, you could:

• find new ways to clean up soil, air and water pollution
• research sustainable food production methods
• develop biofuels from non-food crops and waste biomass materials

Find out more about green careers

• knowledge of biology
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• maths knowledge
• excellent written communication skills
• analytical thinking skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• persistence and determination
• the ability to use your initiative
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role

With experience you could:

• become a commercial research project manager
• teach in schools, colleges or universities
• work in science licensing, patent and trademark rights
• advise organisations on policy as a freelance scientific consultant
• go into science communication, such as media and scientific journalism

If you work in academic research, you could also lead projects and become a senior research fellow or professor.