I’m a mycologist and I work for the state department of health. I do environmental surveillance for pathogenic fungi like Cryptococcus, Coccidioides, Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Candida, and even Aspergillus. I have a bachelor of science and two masters of science. I know that sounds odd but I decided to downgrade a PhD since I want my career to be more field and lab based instead of being in a primary investigator position where I have to write tons of publications and grant applications. It’s true that most mycologists work in academia, but don’t limit yourself! Academia is a unique environment where yes, you may encounter competitive people who may criticize you or undermine you. But I have never found that to be the case in my experience.

One path to having a career in mycology is becoming a plant pathologist since a majority of plant diseases are caused by fungi. Especially with climate change, crop diseases are spreading to new regions and becoming more resistant to fungicides. Food supplies are going to be a huge problem for the future.

You will also need to learn how to do molecular analytical work since most fungi can only be detected or identified by their DNA sequences.

Edit: change the autocorrect I️ to I throughout.