Job Duties of a Botanist
A career in botany, or plant biology, offers a variety or working environments that determine daily duties. The Botanical Society of America cites a varied work experience as one of the many benefits of working as a botanist. Daily job duties depend on salary expectations, educational background, employer and working environment of a botanist.
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Field Research
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The majority of job duties for many botanists involve conducting research. According to The Botanical Society of America, educational institutions, government agencies and industry companies require botanists to conduct research based on food supply, food safety, environmental concerns or other case studies. Working outdoors, a botanist may be required to travel, observe experiments, identify and document plant species, collect specimen, study the effects of pollution on plants or measure plant growth.
Teaching
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The primary duty of a botanist employed at an elementary school, high school, college or university is to teach classes. A botanist working for a zoo or government agency may be required to teach public classes or to conduct workshops and presentations educating people about issues related to plant biology. An educational botanist could also work outdoors conducting field camps or teaching plant identification and documentation to students.
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Lab Work
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A botanist working in a lab would be required use lab equipment such as microscopes and computers to evaluate field research by conducting further experiments and making in-depth observations. According to The Botanical Society of America, lab work could involve using math or chemistry to study the structure of plants.
Writing and Presenting
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In addition to completing experiments, a botanist may write reports, essays, articles or textbooks, or create presentations based on her findings. A botanist could find work presenting plant biology information for television shows, magazines or newspapers.
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References
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