career

[charlz_lynn]

I think I finally figured out what I want to do! It's very exciting to me, now I have to see if it sticks and if Evergreen has a program for it. I want to be a plant pathologist. I LOVE the microscope, and tree diseases (well, parasites, really) are what got me interested in biology in the first place. I wonder if I could somehow minor, or double major, in entomology...?

I feel really excited right now. I want to go back to school immediately, but that's not exactly an option -- I have to wait a year in WA to get residency. Erp.

I mean come on... What is more perfect for me than this? From Wikipedia:

Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious diseases) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants. Not included are insects, mites, vertebrate or other pests that affect plant health by consumption of plant tissues. Plant pathology also involves the study of the identification, etiology, disease cycle, economic impact, epidemiology, how plant diseases affect humans and animals, pathosystem genetics and management of plant diseases.

Comments

[amy-puma.livejournal.com]

Exciting! I have a couple of thoughts, you probably already know all this, but... Are you more interested in insect pests or bacteria/fungus/virus diseases? If insect pests, that is more of a pest management/Ag major. If the latter, that is definitely plant pathology or botany. If both, your idea of major in plant pathology (or related field) and minor in entomology is a great idea.

I think most people probably wouldn't actually end up "majoring" in plant pathology until grad schoo -- at least I think most colleges wouldn't have an actual plant pathology major. Although if you know that is what you are interested in, you could perhaps major in botany and get as much plant pathology research experience as possible as an undergrad. That would help you get into a good grad program anyhow.

As I said, you could also look into are Ag-type programs. Plant diseases are sort of a combination between "pure" biology and applied biology. However I have heard that traditional Ag/horticulture programs can be very frustrating because they just teach you hot to use lots of chemicals to fight plant disease.

Anyhow, just some thoughts.

Another thought: if you are real interested in bacteria/fungi/virus plant diseases, you could also consider taking lots of classes in microbiology and/or mycology.

[charlz-lynn.livejournal.com]

Thanks Puma! I really feel interested in both. I'm not sure at all how the programs work, I need to maybe make a call to Evergreen and see what my options will be there as an undergrad...
Oooohhhhhh... microbiology! Yeah!! I just want to start right this minute. Every single side of this feels exciting to me, and I'm having that "How could it have taken me this long to land on this?" moment.

Thanks for all the tips.
xoxox