Posted on February 27, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

The Value of Experienced Employees

I am teaching a course on protein biochemstry at one of the Department of Energy's laboratories in the Bay Area this week. My class consists of employees who used to work on weapons programs who are facing unemployment because their projects have been cancelled. I have been asked to teach them about proteins to determine whether they have an interest in or aptitude for working in the laboratory's biosensing/microfluidics program. I have been extremely impressed with their talents and willingness to try new things. These are talented people that still have a lot of service to give. I hope that they all can keep their jobs here....The U.S. would be well served if they can! --------
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Posted on February 24, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

Johnson and Johnson Is At It Again!

As reported in the New York Times today, Johnson and Johnson will lay off 150 employees at its California-based Scios unit. The layoff is likely due to the declining sales performance of Scios' Natrecor, which was approved in 2001 by FDA for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. Also, Scios is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for improperly marketing Natercor for off label use. The company currently employes approximately 900 workers (soon to be 750). --------
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Posted on February 24, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

The Road Less Traveled:Alternative Career Paths

After a rousing lecture on Good Laboratory Practices last evening, a bunch of M.S., Ph.D students and postdoctoral fellows in the New York Center for Biotechnology Certificate Program invited me out for a "drink". Not being one to pass up an opportunity for a drink and some intellectual bantering with students, we wound up at a nice bistro down the street. Of course, the drink thing may have had something to do with their case study presentations that will take place in three weeks but as usual the discussion turned to "how do I find a job after I graduate or after I finish my seemingly never-ending postdoctoral sojurn". I was surprised to learn (or perhaps not as observant as I ought to be) that many of the graduate students in the program do not want to do postdoctoral fellowships after they receive their degrees. Mind you, these are very bright students who are pursuing Ph.D degrees at places like Rockefeller University, Columbia University, NYU and Cornell! That said, these students kind of see the handwriting on the wall and have already determined that they do not want to pursue research careers (some of them physically shuddered at the thought). With this in mind, we began to collectively explore alternative career paths for Ph.D holders. I am sure that most of you have heard by now that medical school, law school and business school are alternative career options for scientists who have determined that they do not want to pursue careers in research. Although these career options may be appealing to some, they all take substantial amounts of time, money, and, at least, 2-4 more years of school! For many, the prospect of more school and an additional outlay of cash or acquired debt is not palatable. So with that as a backdrop, we embarked on a spirited, hour long discussion about less well known career possibilities. Here are some of the things that we came up with:
  • Technical writing (science or medical)
  • Business analysts (for venture capitalists or banking firms)
  • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology Sales
  • Medical Communications
  • Competitive Industrial Intelligence
  • FDA investigator/reviewer opportunities
  • Government Laboratory Positions (DOE, DOD and others)
  • CIA
  • Quallity Control and Assurance (may require more training)
  • Regulatory Affairs (may require more training)
  • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology Marketing (may require sales experience)
  • Business Development (may require sales or previous business experience)
Of course, there are many caveats and hidden requirements for many of these jobs. That said, I hope to begin to discuss them in future posts. In the interim, I welcome you to add your suggestions or comments to what I hope will be a growing list of job opportunities for Ph.D and non-Ph.D. holders alike.
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Posted on February 20, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

Do Ph.Ds Really Like to Do Benchwork?

Despite the paradoxical nature of this question, I have always wondered whether a majority of individuals who receive Ph.D. degrees really enjoy doing benchwork? As we all know, benchwork is absolutely required to get a Ph.D. But the real question remains? Do you really want to do benchwork for the rest of your professional career? My unscientific and likely statistically flawed survey of Ph.D holders suggest that most Ph.D.s cannot wait to get out of the laboratory? Am I missing something or is this true?
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Posted on February 19, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

Ortho Biotech Lays Off 300 Employees

About two weeks ago, Ortho Biotech, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, laid off about 300 R & D employees at its Raritan NJ facility. Rumor has it that they will be paid until April 15, 2006 although they will not be working at the facility. In the famous words of Horace Greeley, "Head West ...." --------
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Posted on February 19, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

Are Online Job Searches Worthwhile?

Your funding is winding down or your boss has just told you that the entire deparment will be rightsized in the next month to provide shareholder value. Yikes, you need a new job. What to do? Who to call? The first impulse of many folks in these situations is to head straight for their favorite mega jobboard sites like Monster.com or Career Builder.com. If you have ever visited these sites, you know that there are literally hundreds, maybe even thousands, of appealing jobs waiting for job seekers in any category. You begin to point, click, upload and send. You have literally sent out 50 resumes within the last three hours. Man, this is easy....I should have a job within a week. After all, who would not hire an individual with my talents and skills? Before you join the thousands of other scientists who have applied for the same jobs, you may want to consider a few things. First, a majority of jobs listed on these sites are placed by recruiters who are trolling for candidates for either real or imaginary jobs. Working with recruiters can either be a good thing or a bad thing. If you are just starting your career and are inexperienced, recruiters will not be able to help you....so don't waste your time. On the otherhand, if you are a member of the workforce and have several years of experience, working with a recruiter may be beneficial. This is because experience is the name of the game in our present economy. Employers retain recruiters to find "qualified candidates" who can step into that new job and bring value from day one. There is no time to train "new hires". Second, companies that post jobs on these job sites may or may not be hiring even though they say that they are! In many cases, companies routinely post jobs just to give the public the impression that everything is great at the company. Also, HR Departments like to pad their databases with as many candidates as possible so that when the company is actually hiring they can blast hiring managers with hundreds of resumes (HR people have to keep their jobs too!). Finally, online job applications are initially screened by candidate tracking software that use keywords to identify possible "right fit" candidates. If you failed to include the correct key words on your electronic resume you will likely not be considered for a position whether you are qualified or not. So it goes...... Are online job searches worth the time? I cannot answer that question..... They are certainly emotionally satisfying, if nothing else. However, what I do know is that if online job searching is the only job hunting method that you are using, you may want to consider driving a FedEx truck in the interim. --------
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Posted on February 19, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

Transcending the Transition from Academia to Industry

Despite the growing number of job opportunities in the life sciences industry, it is increasingly difficult for undergraduate and graduate students to secure entry-level jobs at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Although this trend is troubling, and seems, at first glance, paradoxical, there are explanations. Many students lack the appropriate training and qualifications for entry-level jobs at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Unfortunately, most undergraduate and graduate programs do not offer training to their students in drug development, quality systems and manufacturing. The is likely due to: 1) lack of well informed and qualified faculty members to initiate and develop specialized curricula on these topics and 2) a belief that job training is the responsibility of prospective employers, not academic researchers. Unless substantive curricular change is made to existing academic programs, the road to employment for many students will continue to be bumpy and fraught with difficulty.In contrast with academic research, industrial research is highly regulated and guided by legally-enforceable rules and regulations, e.g., Current Good Laboratory Practices (cGLP), Current Good Clinical Practices (cGCP) and Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). These rules and guidelines were created by regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the development of safe and efficacious products. In recent years, the FDA has begun to enforce these rules and regulations more strictly. As a result, many life sciences companies now require that prospective employees understand cGLP, cGCP and cGMP guidelines and how to apply them in industrial laboratory settings. Because these rules and regulations are specific to industry and relatively unknown in academia, most academically-trained job candidates fail to qualify for these industrial jobs. Finally, over the past five years, there has been a growing emphasize on the importance of so-called "soft skills" e.g., good oral written and communication skills, teamwork, professional behavior, etc. in existing and prospective employees. These skills are increasingly important as life sciences companies grow larger, more diverse, and increasingly multidisciplinary in their approach to drug discovery and development. Unfortunately, few academic programs develop these skills in a systematic way; this failure hinders the ability of students to obtain industrial jobs. Although the transition from academia to industry can be difficult, students can do several things to improve their odds. First, take advantage of available resources in preparing your resume and learning how to interview for an industrial position. A well written, carefully crafted resume can result in an interview, and a professional interviewing style can increase the likelihood of a job offer. Working with a skilled and well-connected professional recruiter may also increase the probability of securing an industrial job. Second, many community colleges and several companies now offer specialized training in quality systems, regulatory affairs (cGLP, cGMP and cGCP) and other areas. Finally, there is no better way to get an industrial job than to have previous industrial experience. To get industrial experience, seek out training opportunities that include an industry internship as part of the curriculum. Some biotech and pharmaceutical companies may offer volunteer opportunities, and many have postdoctoral positions.
Cliff Mintz, Ph.D.
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Posted on February 19, 2006 by BioJobBlogger

Is Getting a Ph.D. Degree Worth It?

So...you have been a postdoc for five years and it is time to get a job. Trouble is...you cannot find one. You begin to wonder whether getting that Ph.D. degree was really worth all the trouble. Maybe, business or law school would have been a better idea?

The point that I am trying to make is that Ph.D. is not a ticket nor a guarantee for employment. As far as I can recall (it has been many years) nobody during the course of my graduate education ever said that my Ph.D. degree would insure that I would be able to gain meaningful employment. In fact, I will never forget what my major professor or "boss" said to me one day during one of his more enlightened moments (usually he would want me to put on a pair of boxing gloves and step into the ring with him)...."Getting a Ph.D. is like getting a union card. Just because you are in the union, and have paid your dues, does not mean that you are entitled to anything. It is up to you make something of yourself not the union."

Over the course of a long career, the only thing that I have found that Ph.D. training prepares you for is problem solving. Nothing more, nothing less. If all you wanted at the end of your training was a job, perhaps you should have gone to medical or law school!

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