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Brian J Ford, When the Best Microscopes Create the Worst Images, Microscopy Today, Volume 22, Issue 3, 1 May 2014, Page 73, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1551929514000534
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Microscopists have produced some of the most important images in the history of science. Yet, for all the sophistication of today’s instrumentation, examples persist of the worst possible microscopical results. Microscopy is often taught as a vocation, rather than as a discipline, so there is no general qualification in the subject, and there are no set standards with which instructors must comply. Microscopists with a proven track record were once recognized by election to Fellowship of the Royal Microscopical Society (FRMS), but by the 1970s the society’s fellows were being admitted without evidence of expertise, and the distinction FRMS was abandoned.
There are many universities and independent institutes that provide courses. There are full semester college courses, two-year college degrees, short courses, workshops, and tutorials at microscopy meetings. However, except in a very few cases, there is no generally accepted certification for microscopists.
Formal qualifications are not obligatory for employment in many industries that employ microscopists. In consequence, microscopy standards are variable. Frequently they are excellent, often they are good, sometimes they are poor, and occasionally they are bewilderingly bad. Microscope images are only rarely featured in the media, so the public is disenfranchised and unfamiliar with the subject.
