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Day in the Life
 Biologists
study living organisms: how they grow, reproduce, and interact among
themselves and with their environment. Most work in some kind of
research. Regardless of the area of specialization, in modern biology
full understanding of a process requires integrating studies at many
levels of organization: populations, individual organisms, organ
systems, cells, and molecules. Accordingly, the day-to-day activities
involve a variety of activities.
As for any experimental science, the Ph.D. Biologist must spend time
deciding on the question to be addressed, designing a series of
experiments, gathering the test materials, conducting the experiments,
collecting and analyzing the data, organizing the results for
presentation to other scientists (in meetings with colleagues, in papers
published in scientific journals, or in talks presented at scientific
conferences), and then thinking of the next series of questions raised
by the experimental results. In addition, the Biologist must spend time
reading the scientific literature, attending conferences, and talking
with colleagues to stay current in their field of research, learning of
new findings, new theories, and new technologies.
 Those
working in government or industry often have to prepare justifications
for their working budgets. Those in academia usually have to prepare
grant proposals in order to receive funding for their research.
Professors must also spend time preparing lectures for students. All
research scientists who direct a laboratory must also supervise their
staff.
While the activities noted above are common to almost all biologists in
a general way, the details may be unique to the specialty area.
Depending on the organism being studied, a Biologist may need to grow it
in the laboratory (bacteria, viruses, algae, mice, fish, etc.), observe
it in its own habitat (mountains, meadows, forests, deserts, oceans,
streams, or the air, for example), or collect wild specimens to study in
the laboratory.
 The
laboratory instruments used may be microscopes or special equipment for
observing electrical events, spectroscopic signals, or other chemical or
physical properties. If dealing with dangerous infectious or toxic
agents, then the Biologist must work in special environments that
protect the scientist, the environment, and the public from
contamination.
Bachelor's and master's level Biologists do much the same as the Ph.D.s,
although they usually are not responsible for obtaining grant funding or
professional presentations at scientific meetings.
Most Biologists also engage in some type of "service" activities --
serving on committees in their workplace or for their professional
society, for example, or participating in outreach activities,
explaining their work to the adult public or school children.
 The
Workplace
 Working
hours for Biologists very much depend on the nature of their work. The
work in a laboratory may be very regular, but sometimes the demands of
an experiment go beyond a 9-5 day and the entire effort would be ruined
if stopped abruptly at the normal end of the workday. While out in the
field observing or collecting specimens, a Biologist must follow the
habits of the creature under study -- if it is nocturnal, for example,
the day may be 9-5, but that is 9 PM to 5 AM!
The laboratory environment may be busy, with lots of coworkers and noisy
experimental subjects, or very quiet, with just one or two researchers.
The laboratory may be in a building on an academic campus, part of a
complex of industrial buildings, located in a hospital, or tucked into a
corner of a marine biology research vessel.
Biologists who work in the field have even more varied workplaces: as
different as the habitats in the world around us. The scientist may be
climbing a mountain, boating on a lake, tromping through a rain forest,
or diving at a coral reef. If a field station serves as headquarters for
the project, the facilities may be primitive (no hot water, for example)
or have all the amenities (including the latest sophisticated
equipment).
For Biologists who work in an office, as an administrator, analyst, or
regulator, the work hours tend to be regular. Even in such jobs,
however, impending deadlines may require extra hours from time to time.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by
JGPerpich, LLC and the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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