From Research and Development, to Project Management, to Business Development and Marketing, private industry offers a variety of opportunities for a career after the Ph.D. Potential employers include pharma and biotech companies, medical device manufacturers, consumables companies (reagents, lab equipment, etc.), and service providers (CROs, CMOs, law or marketing firms, etc.). Management skills and excellent interpersonal skills are imperative, as you would work within teams of professionals with different expertise. You would also need to have flexibility and a willingness to adapt to changing company goals. (+/-)
Research and Development
Have you considered a career in Research and Development (R&D) in the private sector? You could be involved in the discovery and development of biologics, pharmaceuticals, devices or research tools. As a staff scientist you could still work in the lab; and as a team leader you would be more involved in experimental design, data analysis collaboration, and decision-making. A big difference from academic research is that in industry your work must align with the company goals and business needs.
R&D includes discovery, pre-clinical development, analytical and process development, formulation, clinical development, as well as project management. As a member of an R&D group, you would interact with all these teams and even the business development or marketing groups.
Specifically as a project manager, you would have to work with different groups to make sure that the timeline is followed and the deliverables are met within budget. Additionally, you would need to be able to prepare reports very quickly and efficiently. Leadership skills, writing skills, and the ability to facilitate teamwork would be essential for this role.
Operations
The Operations section of a company would include Data Management, Manufacturing, and Quality Control: making sure that all processes operate on schedule and all products comply with standards and specifications.
Commercialization
The Commercial Operations of a company would include Business Development, Sales, and Marketing.
For large companies, business development would involve in-licensing, and for small companies, out-licensing. For more information on this career path please refer to our Intellectual Property page. Large companies may also have their own Regulatory Affairs specialists. For more information on this career path please refer to our Regulatory Affairs page.
Other commercialization aspects include market and competitive analysis (e.g. studying global drug market trends), developing marketing and sales strategies and revenue targets. Marketing and Sales is a very dynamic field. With a PhD, you could enter sales as an expert user of the equipment being sold, and could move to the marketing group within the company.
Services
All functions within the industry can be outsourced, and therefore a lot of companies exist as service providers. For example:
- Contract Research Organizations (CROs)
- Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs)
- Firms that provide services/advice on intellectual property, regulatory, or licensing issues
- Medical Affairs and Marketing Services
Additionally, companies may have a Product Support department with experts who communicate with clients. For example, a field application specialist is someone with expertise on certain instruments and can advise customers. This job could involve a lot of travel.
Consulting is another career path available to science PhDs. In a similar consulting capacity, you could work for Venture Capital firms evaluating technologies for investment purposes.
In small companies (~100 employees or less) the lines between R&D, operations, and commercialization may be blurred. If you would enjoy the ability to work in the lab, talk with customers, and participate in company strategy, then a small company may be a good choice for you.
In general, if you are interested in employment in the private sector, it would be important to evaluate the stability of the companies you are considering, and understand the risk involved. Although start-ups present more risk, you may have an opportunity for a bigger impact.
Resources (+/-)
- (NEW!) Watch the videos of Toby Freedman's presentations at JHU in May 2014.
- Watch the videocasts by NIH OITE: Careers in Industry and Industry Careers Overview and Job Packages slides can be found here). The second part of the latter presentation includes a discussion on effective industry resumes.
- Read the relevant sections in the NIH Symposium Newsletters from 2012 and 2013.
- Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development by Toby Freedman available in the Welch library.
- Follow the Tooling Up column by David Jensen.
- FierceBiotech, BIO, and OnBioVC provide news and information that could help you identify companies of interest.
- SciPhD.com offers a lot of resources, including a self-assessment. The Professional Development Office organizes workshop with SciPhD here at JHMI.
- If you are interested in the career track of applications support read this article by Dave Jensen.
Training (+/-)
- Consider a summer course offered by The American Society for Cell Biology: Managing Science in the Biotech Industry: An Intensive Course for Students and Postdocs.
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If you are interested in Clinical Development:
- Consider the online training offered by the NIH Clinical Center, the Association of Clinical Research Professionals, and the Society of Clinical Research Associates
- Consider the Clinical and Translational Research Course for PhD students at the NIH Clinical Center.
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If you are interested in Project Management:
- Look for project management resources at the websites of the Project Management Institute and the Association for Project Management.
- Read the still relevant articles Project Management for Scientists, part 1: an overview and part 2: Getting experience.
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JHU Courses to consider:
- Managing and Leading Biotechnology Professionals (KSAS-AAP)
- Introduction to Drug Discovery Research (SOM)
- Business Communication (Carey)
- Principles of Marketing (Carey)
Check our list of courses for more.
Fellowships and Internships (+/-)
Professional Societies and Networking Groups (+/-)
It is important to develop contacts in industry and learn about the working environment in companies that interest you and what each career path entails. It is never too early to request informational interviews or to talk with company professionals when attending conferences. Local networking resources include:
A day in the life of ... (+/-)
Dave Walker, Ph.D.
Key Account Manager, Active Motif
“A day in sales is a lot of things, most of which won't surprise you. Some days I frantically visit clients with meetings, running through the conference rooms of multi-billion dollar companies. Others I spend writing e-mails and making phone calls, never leaving my house. Jobs are "field-based," which means no office, and co-workers are almost entirely virtual. There can be lots of travel, or relatively little, and a job in sales requires drive because is more performance-based that other industry roles. But I think scientists at the bench can sympathize with this: a sale is like a publication, and sales quotas are like publication requirements. A mentor once told me that "a good day in sales is better than a great day anywhere else." I would add that when things go right each of those days feels like getting a manuscript getting accepted. Of course, every bad day feels like getting scooped.
The biggest adjustment I've had is not seeing any one person on a regular basis. I always thought academic researchers were independent and that a job in sales would be similar, but it is more isolated than that. In a sense, I'm running a franchise of the home office and I am the only employee. Procrastinators beware!”
We thank Win Cheung, Anne Cieniewicz, Catherine Huang, and Barry Morse for their assistance in compiling the above information.