Careers in Biotech and Pharma

Are you a PhD student or Postdoc considering a transition into the bioscience industry?

Understand the drug development process

Bringing a drug candidate to the market 10-15 year process that entails rigorous scientific testing and collaboration with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Steps in this process include discovery and development, preclinical research, clinical research, FDA review, and post-market safety monitoring.

Suggested viewing: This webinar by Charles River Laboratory covers the phases of drug development for small molecule therapeutics and biologics.

Suggested reading:

• Technology Networks: Exploring the drug development process
• FDA: The drug development process

Find your fit in the bioscience industry

From big pharma to biotech startups and contract research organizations—what type of company is the best fit for you?

Event recording: Finding your fit in the bioscience industry (2/22/21)

Suggested reading:

• Which size of pharma company is the best fit for you?
• Careers in biotech and pharma: The right fit
• Working for a contract research organization

Explore career paths in biotech and pharma

Research scientist is just one type of role in the bioscience industry—there are also roles in clinical trials, production, quality assurance, sales and marketing, and more.

Event recording: Career paths in biotech and pharma (3/23/21)

Suggested reading:

• What Types of Jobs are there in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry?

Consider industry postdocs

Industry postdocs are an excellent option to network and gain industry experience.

Event recording: Exploring the industry postdoc path (4/22/21)

Prepare for the bioscience job search

Are preparing to look for jobs in biotech and pharma? Reviewing the resources on this page can help you get a sense of the types of companies and job functions that interest you. Below are some additional steps to jump-start your process:

• Arrange informational interviews with people in your network. Are any friends or family working in the bioscience industry? Have any colleagues from your lab or department recently joined industry? Informational interviewing is a useful tool to learn about your industry of interest and potential career paths.
• Update your resume and schedule a resume review with your OCS advisor.
• Prepare for interviews by practicing the STAR framework and developing stories of your accomplishments.

Event recording: Preparing for the bioscience job search (4/7/21)

Suggested resource:

• iBiology Job Hunting in Industry video series