You become a botanist by learning all you can about plants, and then when in school taking all the botany related courses available. Most likely you will have wanted to learn all there is to know about plants rfrom the time of your toddling age. At that young age their infinite variety titillated you to such a degree that you are obsessed with the shape of the leaves on trees, about the different types of violets that you encountered each spring; Now your days is as it has always been even when you were still in elementary school filled with the wonder of plants.

Your first preparation to your lifetime career of becoming a botanist was this fascination with every thing green and with everything growing. Learning the names and being able to identify the edible plants and distinguishing them from the poisonous ones and learning the secrets of the soil came next. No sooner had you mastered one area of this learning process than you were on to another. Reading and learning about the botany became your favorite pastime.

In high school you took all the science classes that was offered and soon was thought to be an expert on plants. During your summer vacations you had no trouble finding a summer job; you worked at the local nursery and Saturdays during the school year you volunteered as a plant guide at the local community flower garden.

By the time you graduated from high school your mind was made up; you wanted to be a botanist. Your local university was not the most ideal place to learn about your favorite subject but it was the most affordable. With the scholarship you qualified for because of your good grades, and the fact you could live at home, you sailed through college. And all the while still working at the local nursery. They wanted to take you on as a full time worker but you aimed for further study, and farther, more distant, green fields.

The possibilities are endless and while you know you can't do all of them, the problem you now face as you graduate with a major in botany, is in what particular field to specialize in. You at first want a job and from there you will go after your doctorate. You think it is important to select the particular field of endeavor first and then to add to your store of knowledge of botany.

You must choose between plant genetics, or in the field of conservation, mycology, the study of fungi, or the classification of plants and their relationships to each other or even specialize in some far flung field.

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about How to become a botanist?
We want to hear your view. Write now!