Virologist Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Difference between a Virologist and an Epidemiologist? I'm planning to do research on the Alzheimer's disease when I grow up and just wanted to know, what is the difference between a Virologist and an Epidemiologist. And also, which job would be better for studying the alzheimer's disease?

Answer: Epidemiology is the study of the effects of chronic and infectious diseases on the population at study. If you are an epidemiologist, you are studying the 'epidemiology' of the bird flu outbreak in Shanghai, China in the 2003-2004 flu season, for example. Epidemiologists study the disease, its causes if known, the distribution and the statistics of the morbidity and mortality. Virologists are involved in the study of viruses. So they study the 'bug' that makes people ill, and some who do not. A virologist would be involved in the identification of the virus responsible for that same Shanghai flu outbreak. If you are considering research on Alzheimer's disease, you might want to consider a medical degree first, then a specialty in internal medicine, with special emphasis on geriatrics. Most medical center based studies, that of course is where the patients are, are going to have a preference for an MD rather than a PhD for this type of position, as is the case for most medical research. In addition, there are several excellent MD/PhD University based programs which are research based, which sound like what you are interested in. Good luck.

Question: If you are a virologist, how will you combat a specific viral strain aside form vaccine? if you are a virologist, how will you combat a specific viral strain aside from vaccine, when the virus attacking cyto-toxic-Tcells?

Answer: Antiviral medication.

Question: What education is needed to become a virologist? can u tell me some information about the actual career? how much does a virologist get paid?

Answer: You need to learn all about virolos Then you could get paid peanuts working for the government shouting...."ohhh, bird flu.....ohhh, swine flu" on request.

Question: so i got my diploma through stepping stones i really wanna be a virologist what college do i start at? so i dont know how high my GPA will be at. would i have to start off with a community college and if so what classes do i take for a virologist? i don know if i want to do this for humans or animals but please if anyone can help me on this im kinda stuck. thank you!

Answer: it is wise to start out with core classes like your maths and englishes and sciences and a guidance counselor can help with which classes at your local community college.

Question: What would be the salary of a virologist at a biosafety level 4 lab be? This is my life goal and I was wondering what I should study, what kinds of scientists I would work with, and what my chances are, salary info would be good too.

Answer: Well I did the research for you! Since virology is a branch of biology (dealing with viruses and such) you will most likely need an undergraduate degree in biology. Which means, if you're in highschool, you will need grade 12 University level Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Biology and chemistry are the ones you need for sure, physics can be left out but you will still need to take it during your first year biology (I'm doing a biology major atm also). But then again, it depends on the school you're going to, so make sure you check the prerequisites for the biology degree. It would be even more beneficial for you, to take many microbiology classes or even major in microbiology (this field deals with diseases and viruses and pathogens, etc). Then you have to pick whether you want to deal with plants, animals, humans, etc. There are many different viruses and the ones you want to deal with, you need to find out who they affect. But you can figure this out as you go along in university. This is an example of the tasks they preform on a daily basis: o to study growth, structure, development, and general characteristics of viruses o to isolate and make cultures of significant viruses o to identify viruses by microscopic or electron microscopic exam o to observe and monitor action of viruses on living or non-living organic materials o to perform chemical analyses of substances produced by viruses and study their effects on organic matter. Virologists are employed by hospitals, medical schools, medical research companies, pharmaceutical companies, governmental agencies, laboratory testing companies, or cancer treatment or research companies depending upon the specialization. If you have good enough grades, understand what you're doing in university, and can get into some virology programs (AFTER you have graduated with an undergraduate degree), finding a job should be no problem, in fact, they're always hiring due to the appearances of new viruses each day. The salary will depend on where you work, and how long you've been employed. Naturally, you will start at the bottom and work your way to the top! Unless you have done a LOT of school and are overly-qualified, then they will be forced to pay you more. The average salary that I've found for a virologist is 53,000$ per year. I have read that it can range anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000$ though. Just an added piece of information, virology is basically a medical branch! So you can expect quite a bit of schooling. But good luck! This seems like a very interesting job! I'm actually studying to become an infectuous diseases specialist =D

Question: What qualifications(UK) do I need to become a biologist or a virologist? I'm 13 years old and going into Year 9 in September. What do I need to do?

Answer: Make sure you are doing double science as a minimum. If you can do as many sciences as your school allows, often it is Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Obviously English and Mathematics. Then you need to follow that with A Levels, Biology, Chemistry and another are usually fine. Any of Psychology, Geography or Environmental Science are not bad if offered. Then go to University doing a Biology or more specialised degree.

Question: How long does it take to become a virologist? What kind of degree?

Answer: Well, there are two routes: 1) A PhD. in viruses. This takes about 5-7 years after your bachelors degree. My T.A. for freshman biology recently got her PhD. from Brown in virology- very, very smart. 2) Medical doctor. Viruses are classified (in medicine) as a sub-speciality of pathology (study of disease). After 1 year internship, 3 years internal medicine residency, 2 years pathologist resident, and 1-2 years virus fellow you will become a virologist.

Question: I want to be a virologist. Should I go to med school? I want to go to graduate school and study oncogenic viruses (viruses that cause cancer). Would it be worthwhile for me to get an MD/PhD combo, or should I just get a PhD in virology? I heard that certain things require a medical degree, such as drawing blood or extracting tissue, even for research purposes. Is that true?

Answer: I say No; just the PhD. I had a blood sample taken today and I guarantee the girl who took it wasn't a doc. She was a licensed, certified whatever-it-is. Cutting a person may well require an MD. So what. You won't be working on the moon by yourself. You'll have all sorts of qualified assistants in your lab. Getting a PhD in a Biochemistry field is tough enough; don't take on more than you have to.

Question: What Qualifacations does a Bacterialologist/virologist need? I am aiming to be either and just wanted to know what i need to get

Answer: or a degree in virology. Depends on how high/far you want to take things.

Question: Who wants to see Jeremiah Wright duke it out with a real virologist? Black-with-black: let's see Dr. Wright espouse his AIDS theory face-to-face to a *yes*--AFRICAN AMERICAN--virologist, a scientist who specializes in the study of viruses. T-bone: Why do you think it is a waste of time? Just curious...

Answer: Not really....I would rather Rev. Wright and his band of racist be ignored and forgotten. Cowards don't usually fight they make noise. The good Reverend falls into this category.