Is botany a good course in Nigeria? How lucrative and marketable is botany in Nigeria?
Botany is the scientific study of plants. It includes the study of their structure, how they grow, how they can be effectively classified, the variables that impact their development, etc.
Botany is a branch of biology which is the study of all living plant life. Botany is a good career option for individuals who have an interest in plant life.
Botanists are involved in plant analysis, research, and protection of the plant kingdom. They are also responsible for discovering the various uses of plants and plant material.
Botanists can find employment in various public and private sectors like Agriculture and Forestry, Industries such as Petrochemical, lumber, and paper, Pharmaceutical Institutions, Botanical gardens and Arboretums, Research institutions, Food industries and Educational Institutions. A botanist is a scientist who studies plants.
They look at plant structure, biochemistry and ecology to understand plant growth, their impact on our environment as well as their uses and conservation.
Botany is a research-oriented course and profession. Although it has its practical aspects, most of the work is done in documenting research and observing plants and the likes.
Here are some of the areas which Botanists can major in or specialize in;
👉Ecology
👉Morphology
👉Taxonomy
👉Systems Ecology
👉Agronomy
👉Genetics
👉Plant pathology
👉Economic Botany
👉Paleobotany
👉Forestry
👉Horticulture
Botany is a fascinating subject and, like many other subjects whether it is difficult or not will depend on the whether or not you are actually interested in the subject rather than the objective difficulty of the course.
Sadly and almost comically, in Nigeria today students tend to select courses by accepting wherever they are thrown to by the institution of their choice.
The average science student is going for a health related course of study just registers medicine as their preferred course and when they fails to meet up with the cut off mark or other requirements have no choice but to accept whatever course is given to them by the institution.
Most students end up getting interested in the course just because they have no choice and not because of original or ingenuous interest in Botany or such courses. The Botany program runs for four (4) years in the university after which the graduates are awarded with the Bachelor of Science in Botany degree (BSc. Botany).
The future is not bleak though as they still have a lot of career options in Botany which they can pursue and be successful in. This quality makes Botany a good course in Nigeria. A good course has to have an average to large amount of Job availability, provides opportunities for higher education and career development, and most importantly of all is lucrative.
Botany provides the diverse work opportunities and environments as well as career development by allowing you to master in courses such as MSc Biotechnology, Mycology and Forest ecology.
The average salary of Botanists in Nigeria is about 100,000 naira and it ranges from 60,000 naira to 400,000 naira per month and this can also change.
The salary of Botanist like almost all other professions is dependent on the location of the job, the employer, the job description and the level of experience. Government employees tend to earn more than their colleagues in the private sector but not in all cases.
Olayinka Shyllon
This article is the intellectual property of www.nimedhealth.com.ng
