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Careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Hey, I’m currently in my second year of undertaking my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and was hoping to get an idea of the different jobs available within the pharmaceutical industry that will fit my degree.

Many thanks!!
Original post by Saf06
Hey, I’m currently in my second year of undertaking my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and was hoping to get an idea of the different jobs available within the pharmaceutical industry that will fit my degree.

Many thanks!!

hi i'm applying for that this year and also want to get into the pharamceutical industry. Which university do you go to? does you degree have a lot of chemistry and pharmacology units because i like these units but i don't want to fully commit to a pharmacology degree because i want to still do bio. do you know which universities who offer biomedical science with lots of chem and pharmacology besides manchester
Reply 2
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Saf06
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Hey, I go to Bradford university and it’s mainly a mixture of biochemistry, microbiology and genetics type of modules.
Research scientist in things like stem cell and car-T, or even antibodies/vaccines.
Pretty hard to get into without doing a placement year or a PhD

Lots of opportunities in small companies like DNA analysis and general lab technitian etc but aren't as well paid
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 4
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Saf06
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Original post by AndyChow
Research scientist in things like stem cell and car-T, or even antibodies/vaccines.
Pretty hard to get into without doing a placement year or a PhD

Lots of opportunities in small companies like DNA analysis and general lab technitian etc but aren't as well paid


Oh ok. Which jobs would you say are more well paid?
Reply 5
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Saf06
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Anyone else able to help please
Original post by Saf06
Oh ok. Which jobs would you say are more well paid?

Job that requires a PhD. Entry level jobs are low paid because there's way too many biomed undergrads relative to the number of vacancies, especially true if you are not from top 5 universities. You are looking at £25k with very limited career progression, that's why so many people come back to do a masters then PhD.

Another route is to just stick with academia, if you can land a permanent position at a university as a reader or professor then it's quite good as well, but that depends a lot on luck and the amount of high impact papers you publish for your PhD. If you did 3 years PhD on a bad project with no results, then it's GG.
Reply 7
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Saf06
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Original post by AndyChow
Job that requires a PhD. Entry level jobs are low paid because there's way too many biomed undergrads relative to the number of vacancies, especially true if you are not from top 5 universities. You are looking at £25k with very limited career progression, that's why so many people come back to do a masters then PhD.

Another route is to just stick with academia, if you can land a permanent position at a university as a reader or professor then it's quite good as well, but that depends a lot on luck and the amount of high impact papers you publish for your PhD. If you did 3 years PhD on a bad project with no results, then it's GG.


Thanks for that. Also, moving aside from the pharmaceutical industry what type of job would you suggest after completion of degree?

Many thanks
Original post by Saf06
Thanks for that. Also, moving aside from the pharmaceutical industry what type of job would you suggest after completion of degree?

Many thanks

General non-degree-specific jobs because bio and pharma are not numerate enough for a lot of finance and data roles. If you want to exit the field after graduation then you should definitely work on your employability right now because there will be some fiere competition waiting for you.
Original post by Saf06
Anyone else able to help please

basically from what I've seen, you can DEFINITELY get a well payed job in the pharmaceutical industry with a biomed degree. But you must work hard at Uni, likewise with every other degree. Your starting job will be entry level so the pay wont be as high but personally I wouldn't care because the expeience is invaluable. Then after you've worked there for 1-2 years you look for the job you want and they usually ask for around 1-2 years experience working in industry, a 2:1 above in a science degree and most places want you to atleast have a masters.
Original post by AndyChow
Job that requires a PhD. Entry level jobs are low paid because there's way too many biomed undergrads relative to the number of vacancies, especially true if you are not from top 5 universities. You are looking at £25k with very limited career progression, that's why so many people come back to do a masters then PhD.

Another route is to just stick with academia, if you can land a permanent position at a university as a reader or professor then it's quite good as well, but that depends a lot on luck and the amount of high impact papers you publish for your PhD. If you did 3 years PhD on a bad project with no results, then it's GG.

that's not ture. Too many people say that and its really not. In my opinion, a PhD isn't needed unless you want to go into research. You can definately get a job with a biomed degree just try and get experience in as many ways possible so you can stick out. However i would suggest doing a masters, it is only 1 year and you can increase you job oportunities and salary by so much.
Original post by fatimalatif806
hi i'm applying for that this year and also want to get into the pharamceutical industry.

that's not ture. Too many people say that and its really not. In my opinion, a PhD isn't needed unless you want to go into research.

ThAtS nOt TrUe

A-level student lecturing a postgraduate from Cambridge about the pharma industry. Should I be taking you seriously? Half of the masters students from my cohort went to do entry-level roles, the other half went to do a PhD. You definitely won't be getting a project lead role with just an MSc/MRes, since most biomed undergrad studies with MSci anyways. That's why so many PhD candidates are in their late 20's or early 30's because after years being stuck in 25-30k roles they realized this is the only way they can gain a promotion.

The fact that "Too many people say that" doesn't come from nowhere. How much arrogance does it take to think a 17yo's opinion is more correct than the consensus in this field? You are welcome to speak to me in 5 years time when you actually expeirenced the harsh reality of real life. Right now you seem to be living inside some naive fantasy.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by AndyChow
ThAtS nOt TrUe

A-level student lecturing a postgraduate from Cambridge about the pharma industry. Should I be taking you seriously? Half of the masters students from my cohort went to do entry-level roles, the other half went to do a PhD. You definitely won't be getting a project lead role with just an MSc/MRes, since most biomed undergrad studies with MSci anyways. That's why so many PhD candidates are in their late 20's or early 30's because after years being stuck in 25-30k roles they realized this is the only way they can gain a promotion.

The fact that "Too many people say that" doesn't come from nowhere. How much arrogance does it take to think a 17yo's opinion is more correct than the consensus in this field? You are welcome to speak to me in 5 years time when you actually expeirenced the harsh reality of real life. Right now you seem to be living inside some naive fantasy.

The fact that you said you were a 'PhD StUdENt frOm CaMbRidGe' to make someone else feel less, I have no respect for you. Have you not grown up, you must at least be 25 if you already have a PhD so what are you doing here? You make it seem like the only way you can earn a good amount of money is getting a PhD, which i disagreed with completely. In my opinion, and from looking at what the requirements of jobs in the pharmaceutical field, they usually want you to have experience in the field rather than a PhD. Obviously, you wont get payed lots in your first job, that usually the case. But you use those first few jobs to get experience and to build yourself up so 10 years down the line you can be in a better paying job.

My point is, you dont need a PhD to be successful, but having one will help you. There are many routes to success, not just through a Phd.

Also i would like to add, money isn't everything. Being 'stuck in a 25k-30k job' would be some people's dream, there are people who work so hard 9-5 jobs 5 days a week and they earn much less. Be appreciative of what you have.
Original post by fatimalatif806
Being 'stuck in a 25k-30k job' would be some people's dream

To be frank, I was once ignorant and naive like this. It's a phase of life everyone experiences and I have no hard feelings for you. But you should tone down your arrogance because you have 0 experience with the industry and 0 credibility to backup your claims. You are entitled to your opinions but you are in no position give career advice at a serious thread when you are younger than the OP and haven't even made the 1st step yet. A quick look at your post history, you were asking about employment a week ago, so I don't know where did you find this confidence in such a short period of time.

"experience in the field" Means PhD + years of postdoc research. It does not mean 10 years as a lab technitian. The corporate promotial hierarchical structure in phama is different and you should've done more research into it. The good roles will say MSc or PhD but it's always the PhD that get the job. Many also ask for "Strong publication record" so I wonder how much high impact papers can you publish in just an MSc?

P.S. Postgrad does not mean PhD, I'm just an MSci who left the field
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by AndyChow
To be frank, I was once ignorant and naive like this. It's a phase of life everyone experiences and I have no hard feelings for you. But you should tone down your arrogance because you have 0 experience with the industry and 0 credibility to backup your claims. You are entitled to your opinions but you are in no position give career advice at a serious thread when you are younger than the OP and haven't even made the 1st step yet. A quick look at your post history, you were asking about employment a week ago, so I don't know where did you find this confidence in such a short period of time.

"experience in the field" Means PhD + years of postdoc research. It does not mean 10 years as a lab technitian. The corporate promotial hierarchical structure in phama is different and you should've done more research into it. The good roles will say MSc or PhD but it's always the PhD that get the job. Many also ask for "Strong publication record" so I wonder how much high impact papers can you publish in just an MSc?

P.S. Postgrad does not mean PhD, I'm just an MSci who left the field

Honestly I’m not trying to be rude, I’m here to get some advice. I probably am very naive rn and will laugh at myself in 5 years time. I just haven’t found what I’m passionate about yet, and it’s really bothering me. Seeing all the ppl in my class wanting to be doctors or following their dreams while I just feel like I don’t know which path to go down. I like science so I’m choosing biomed but like I love law and business too. I don’t even know if I’m making the right desicion lol and I’m so impatient as well so not being able to know what I’ll do in the future is annoying me.
Original post by fatimalatif806
Honestly I’m not trying to be rude, I’m here to get some advice. I probably am very naive rn and will laugh at myself in 5 years time. I just haven’t found what I’m passionate about yet, and it’s really bothering me. Seeing all the ppl in my class wanting to be doctors or following their dreams while I just feel like I don’t know which path to go down. I like science so I’m choosing biomed but like I love law and business too. I don’t even know if I’m making the right desicion lol and I’m so impatient as well so not being able to know what I’ll do in the future is annoying me.

My initial reply was very arrogant so I have to apologize. What you are experiencing is perfectly ok. People's values and perceptions change a lot. A lot of people from my year chose the subject they 'love' and some are still loving it. But for a lot of people like me, the love ran out once they try to turn their love into a career, when they see less intelligent classmates just bought a new Porsche because they chose the 'right subjects' like CS, while you are unemployed/stuck in a low-level job, it's very hard to not feel sour. That's why each year so many grads transfer to finance and consulting as their final way out to make money. People here say money doesn't buy happiness, I used to say the same, but neither does poverty. I promise you at least some of your classmates will end up regretting 'chasing their passion.' Eventually for 90% of adults, their job is just a tool to make money to put food on the table, they encounter new passions such as family, hobby, politics etc... outside work.

I don't think biomed is dead, it's a rising industry unlike traditional STEMs, but it's massively oversaturated. Nowadays a BSc will only qualify you for lab technician washing dishes & running gels/assays. An MSc at a reputable uni will get you an entry-level scientist role, but to access any senior roles you must go back for PhD under a good supervisor and publish a lot of high-impact papers. I'm just throwing it out there because I hope people realize the true landscape before committing.

Generally, unless you have an extreme passion for a subject, I recommend people to have a long term vision that sets them up at a good financial position in 10 years time, just in case money becomes an issue.
1. List subjects you CAN do and have some talent in, and not end up hating (depression is worse than unemployment)
2. Research each subject, look at graduate employment and not just total percentage figure (McDonalds also count as employment), see what kinds of sector people are in, a large proportion of 'progressed to further education', 'catering & retail services' are big alarm bells.
3. Strike a balance between passion and financial reward.
(edited 3 years ago)

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