"The Times They Are a Changing"
I think by now that Americans realize that the economy is taking a sharp.jpg)
downward turn. Even the recession-proof pharmaceutical industry has taken a huge beating over the past year or so– and things seem to be getting worse! The biotechnology industry, which is highly dependent upon venture capital and private equity to remain healthy, is also trending downward and will be hit hard if the economy slides into recession. To make matters worse, the US Department of Labor recently released figures which showed projected growth (for 2006 to 2016) for the fastest-growing occupations in America (see below). Not surprisingly, scientists–industrial or academic– did not make the top 20 list.
|
Occupation |
Median Wage (May, 2006) |
% Expected Growth |
|
Registered nurses |
$57,280 |
587 |
|
Retail salespeople |
$19,760 |
557 |
|
Customer service representatives |
$28,330 |
545 |
|
Food preparation & serving (including fast food ) |
$15,050 |
452 |
|
Office and general clerical workers |
$23,710 |
404 |
|
Personal and home-care aides |
$17,770 |
389 |
|
Home health aides |
$19,420 |
384 |
|
Post-secondary school teachers |
$56,120 |
382 |
|
Janitors and cleaners (not maids and housekeeping) |
$19,930 |
345 |
|
Hospital nursing aides, orderlies and attendants |
$22,180 |
264 |
|
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks |
$30,560 |
264 |
|
Waiters and waitresses |
$14,850 |
255 |
|
Child care workers |
$17,630 |
248 |
|
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants |
$37,240 |
239 |
|
Computer software and application engineers |
$79,780 |
226 |
|
Accountants and auditors (4 year college degrees) |
$54,630 |
226 |
|
Landscaping and lawn workers |
$21,260 |
221 |
|
Elementary school teachers (not special education) |
$45,750 |
209 |
|
Receptionist and information clerks |
$22,900 |
202 |
|
Truck drivers, heavy equipment and tractor trailer |
$35,040 |
193 |
Together, this suggests that finding jobs in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or related industries will be tougher in the next few years than it has been in the past. I suspect that this is not welcome news for those of you who have tried but were unable to find jobs in the past few years. With this in mind, I decided to launch a series of weekly blog posts that will last for 6 to 7 weeks entitled: “Everything That You Ever Wanted to Know about Finding a Job in the Bioscience industry …and Then Some”
I will post these weekly installments on my blog in the “Ask the Recruiter” category. I hope that the folks who read my blog will leave comments or ask me questions that may arise after you have perused the posts. Topics will include:
- Creating a winning resume
- Networking
- Conducting a job search
- Interviewing tips
- Negotiating a job offer
- Tips on getting promoted
- How to ask for a raise…and get it!
- Alternative career options for scientists
Because this undertaking is going to require a bit of thought and a lot of work, I decide to invite my colleagues Eric Celidonio and Joe Tringali to help me out. Eric and Joe are professional recruiters and bioscience career development specialists who work with me at local and national science meetings where we present bioscience career development seminars and provide resume critiquing services to graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and industrial scientists. Eric, Joe and I have worked together for the past 4 years or so and we are affectionately known as “The Three Bioscience Amigos”. It is our goal to offer you some insights and tips to enable you to find gainful employment in the bioscience industry.
Until next time…
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!
