There has been a dramatic growth in the production of biofuels in recent times. In response to the energy crisis, global warming, and climate changes, biomass has received a great deal of interest as a promising feedstock for the production of biofuels. Biofuels derived from biomass are renewable and sustainable energies with the potential to replace fossil fuels. In addition, the development of biofuels might reduce a country’s reliance on crude oil imports, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and increase regional incomes. Global biofuel production tripled between 2000 and 2007, and biofuels accounted for about 1.6% of global transportation fuel in 2012 (International Energy Agency).

Career Scopes in Environmental Biotechnology

By Parinita Gupta

Environmental Biotechnology

Environmental biotechnology is a stream in science which deals with microorganisms for environmental improvements. It primarily focuses on improving biological systems. It is a cross-disciplinary where the experts focus on creating new products, analyze them and their relationships which helps in developing the environment. An environmental biotechnology is a combination of both biology and professional engineering where the students work of developing the remediate contaminated sites like microbes, bacteria, fungi etc. biologists of this stream undertake researches on these organisms, breakdown them and convert them into harmless organelles which can be beneficial to the environment.

Environmental biotechnologists may also use plants to filter pollutants in soil, water, or air, convert plants to biofuels, or develop more sustainable processes to prevent pollution.

Career Scopes in Environmental Biotechnology

Graduates and postgraduates from this background have a lot of scopes. Companies tend to take the professionals as the demand is quite very high in this industry. Environmental Biotechnology is a lucrative career in Abroad. There are many government institutions looking for professionals who can really work on these organelles. Environmental biotechnology is combined with sustainable resources like soil and water air etc. In past one decade, it was also observed that there is a lot of scope in energy sustainable resources. Usage of soil, water, air, biological waste and converting them for generating resources like radiant energy, kinetic energy, thermal energy, hydropower and many more. This industry had become a vast industry which had opened many new career roles for trained professionals.

Career Opportunities in Environmental Biotechnology

Majority of environmental biotechnologists work in private industry for private companies which provide bioremediation services, or environmental consulting companies. Many people get the job opportunities in research and development for biofuel firms.

Some highly qualified professionals also get a chance to work in government sectors for federal and state agencies involved in land management and restoration, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They are employed to conduct researches

The demand is quite huge all across the world and maximum demand is seen on the east coast and in California and Texas

Read: Role of Machine Learning, AI & Big Data Analytics in Energy & Sustainability

Major Fields in Environmental Biotechnology:

There are many fields in Environmental Biotechnology field.

Biofuels- Biofuels are the fuels made from organic material. This industry is gaining a lot of importance due to the awareness of pollution and rapid change in the climate. The industry is still is a niche in India, but it grows well in abroad. This field seeks the graduates and master graduates of environmental biologists, agricultural engineers and scientists with a degree in biochemistry or microbiology. An average salary in this stream ranges from $30, 000 to $71,000.

Bioremediation– Bioremediation is a new concept of cleaning contaminated land with the help of microbes and bacteria. This field is completely a research-oriented field, where the biologist has to perform various tests researches to see the outcome of cleansing using microbes. An average salary in this field usually starts from $60, 000 per annum.

Agricultural Biotechnology- Agricultural Biotechnology is Environmental Biotechnology with a huge focus on crops and farming. Agricultural Biotechnologists’ aim is to research and test the crops by genetically modifying them and make them sustainable to any kind of weather conditions, pest, and diseases. This is a broad field where every country needs the professionals to research on crops and produce genetically modified plants. The growth in this industry is very high and the average salary starts at $75000 and above.

Educational Requirement:

To pursue master’s degree and want to make a career in environmental biotechnology, aspirant have to complete the graduate degree in biotechnology or B.sc Science with science stream, including the subjects like including natural science, research methods, the biotechnology, agricultural science etc.

To join reputed companies, Masters or doctoral degrees are considered to be assets where you can be identified in the industry for better opportunities. Master’s degree is generally a 2 years course where you have to study and perform research on a specific field you are interested at.

Core courses for Ph.D. or Masters include

Biostatistics

Environmental analytical chemistry

Soil fungal communities

Biodegradation

Bioremediation

Other Degree’s related to Environmental Biotechnology

Meteorology Online Degree and Certificate

Biomimicry Degrees – Online and Campus

Environmental Psychology Degree

Chemistry Degree Options

Geospatial Intelligence Analytics Degrees

Roles of Environmental Biologist:

Environmental biotechnologists apply biological processes to technology and create sustainable resources. Apart from the biological processes,

A biologist works on converting the sustainable resources into biofuels

They also work on treating the sewage waste and converting it into manure to plants.

They also help in creating industrial cleansers by replacing strong chemical treatments.

Perform complex biological tests on the field and in the laboratory.

Maintain a document and analyze all the lab and field result.

Environmental biotechnologists oversee the complete process improvements and data quality which help in analyzing the help workgroup of business and scientific

. Top universities in India which offer Environmental Biotechnology

University of Delhi, Delhi

Aligarh Muslim University, Jaunpur

National Environmental Research Institute, Nagpur

Amity University, Noida

Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

Top universities in abroad which offer Environmental Biotechnology

Middle Tennessee State University

Wageningen University & Research

Queensland University of Technology

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Deakin University, Australia

Institute of Technology (Ireland)

Leeds Beckett University UK

University of Greenwich UK

LUND University, Sweden

Major Job titles Job:

Environmental Biotechnologist

Environmental specialists

Environmental Scientist

Environmental Consultant

Environmental Science Manager

Lecturer

Conservation Hydrologist

Director of Waste Management

Jobs can be found in many environmental monitoring organizations, environmental consultancies, universities, Industries, distilleries, fertilizer plants, Government organizations, NGOs, Pollution Control Boards, Public Institutions and Private Industries, Firms etc.

Read: Electric Vehicles vs Biofuels

Salary & Pay Scale

Salary packages are quite good in this field. According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), An Average salary for environmental specialists and scientist starts from $70,770 per annum. In India, A bachelor’s degree holder can get an average salary between Rs. 3 to 4 lac lacs per annum while masters or a Ph. D holder can take up to 4 to 8 lacs per annum.

Moreover, the salary packages totally depend on various factors such as the size of the organization, sectors, working location, education and various other factors.

According to the Biotechnology Institute, there is a lot of demand for environmental biologists, there is more than 15% growth in the industry and seeking to appoint more than 13,200 jobs for various roles by 2022. This rate is considered to be faster than the average job growth rate across all occupation