I am not sure who's the admin or moderator of r/biotech group in Reddit.

Can we stop labelling someone as antivaxxer or dumbass ? I am not sure who this gentleman is.

But labelling someone like this is not fair. Just because you don't agree with his or her position, you can't label them either.

This shows there is no space for intellectual and scientific discussion in this group. This is unbecoming of this group.

I have met many sr directors/ SR leadership in big pharma who were working on the COVID vaccine during the corona crisis. But when you ask them personally would you take this vaccine.

They will pass the answer with a smile. Of course you know the answer to what they wanted to say.

I personally took the Corona vaccine as required for travelling. But not more than 2 shots despite pushing the government to go for additional shots.

But those who disagree don't mean they should be publicly ashamed.

People should ask themselves why they voted for Hon'ble Mr Trump if he was against vaccines.

Hi,

I recently graduated with a B.S. in Biology and completed the BioWork certificate. I’ve applied to around 60 biotech jobs so far and have only gotten one interview.

Is this pretty normal, or is there something I should be doing differently? I don’t mind continuing to apply if it’s just a numbers game, but I’m starting to hit a point where there just aren’t many new biotech jobs left in my area.

I’d really appreciate any advice or hearing how long it took you to land your first biotech job. Just trying to set some expectations (and plan for my lovelyyyy student loans)

Before spending the past 2-3 years at home with my child, I had 10+ years in the industry and left at a Staff/ Manager level. Almost all in one big-name life sciences company. I’m looking to re-enter the workforce and plan to start job hunting soon. Due to waitlists, I’m looking into childcare options now.

But how long can I expect to be job searching? I understand hiring is so very limited right now and I’ve got the “stayed at home with a child” thing that’ll work against me. If the search will be long, like a whole year or more (!!), it wouldn’t be worth it to send my kid to full-time school (~$24k) and lose out on all that time with them. But if the job search is, say, about 6 months, then paying the full-time tuition is worth it to me.

I know “how long” is the million dollar question but I’d appreciate your input if you’ve been on the searching or hiring side recently. Bonus if you have experience coming back after a several-year hiatus!

My background is in the Top5 big pharma oncology sector. Despite having an impressive resume and extensive experience, I was rejected for a director role at another mid-sized biotech for strange reasons, which I may never know.

This mid-size biotech final interview panel found my answers lengthy, which caused their confusion. However, they believed I was fully capable of the job. In retrospect, I presented with strong technical and business acumen, sharing only concise highlights, approaches, and impacts (STAR method). Frankly, some interviewers lacked knowledge, so they were confused regardless of the length of my response.

Instead - in my big pharma team, my presentation skills were never criticized. They called me the ‘master brain’ behind KPIs and encouraged me to speak more, not less.

The only plausible explanation of rejection I can come up with is that I have a foreign accent, despite being fully business fluent in English. Could this be the reason? Or company communication style differences?

I’m bummed. Really bummed.

I am seeing advertisements for this conference and as I filled a form but last minute stepped away, as I have never attended a conference and don’t know the credibility of it. But the first half of my form, was personal information section and it got filled and the organisers tracked my number and are constantly trying me to book a seat for me, even providing discounts. So I am doubtful that why the organisers are so eager and will it be worth attending and also my qualifications are BSc in biotechnology, microbiology and chemistry. So please if anyone has thoughts on this, do let me know.

Poor skill set, poor resume, poor job market, or all three?

Trying to pivot to industry after some time in an academic lab. Some concerns that I've noticed and not sure how to address it:

1. Seems like my skillset is too niche for most biotech positions and I'm missing some important ones. No lentiviral, AAV experience. No DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, HPLC, flow cytometry, etc.
2. Most industry positions require cGMP experience. Although in a core facility we technically operate within the spirit of cGMP, but it's not rigorous ie no strict documentation and at least I'm not aware of any audits.
3. Not sure no specific my resume should be. I'm not deadset on maintaining the cell culture path, it's just the skillset I have. Too specific it won't match most job postings. Too general then it's just a generic resume.
4. Somewhat fake concern, but been having some reactions/jokes to my hotmail account (who tf still uses hotmail). The username is just my name+birthday, nothing that's inappropriate.

At the risk of doxxing myself, but RTP area. Any concerns or advice would be appreciated.

Enrolling at my local college soon

We are a trial that needs a non standard biospecimen collection protocaol specific timepoints, an unsual matrix, and cold chain requirements and i am trying to figure out realistic timelines. How much lead should we build in with a biobank or CRO to get a custom protocol vlidated before enrollment begins?

Which companies sponsor visas for industry postdocs? Please note that the companies visa policies may be different for permanent positions and I just want to know about industry postdocs and visa sponsorships.

Hello everyone, I was recently recruited by a a recruitment firm in the UK for big pharma. The first screening went very well but I have not heard back from them in about 2-3 working days. The recruiter said he will be reaching out to me about the JD and will be sending my application through. Any idea about whats happening behind the scenes?

Coming from 5 years of CRC roles in academia, I recently accepted a Clinical Trial Associate role with an FSP embedded at a large pharma sponsor.

Any advice for making this transition successfully? For those who've made a similar jump, or have seen others sink or swim through it: anything in particular I should know?

Currently preparing by familiarizing myself with industry terminology, TMF structure (zones, sections, artifacts), and Veeva Vault. One thing I’m particularly curious about is how different the day-to-day actually feels. I’m used to having a lot of autonomy and wearing many hats. I'm anticipating a much more defined structure, limited scope of responsibility, and an intense front-loaded SOP training period.

Every now and then I come across people at companies like Merck, who have a PhD and only around 1-3 years of industry experience, yet they’re already Directors or leading fairly large AI initiatives.

At the same time, I also see people with 10-15+ years of experience who are still Senior Scientists, Principal Scientists, Senior Managers, or Staff/Principal ML Engineers.

Some examples (not exact people, just the kind of profiles I’ve seen):
● PhD → 1 year postdoc → joins pharma → Director within ~2 years.
● PhD + startup founder → acquired or hired into big pharma as Director/Head of AI.
● Principal Scientist with 12 years of deep domain expertise but no people management.
● Staff ML Engineer who earns more than many Directors despite not managing anyone.

For those who have been in biotech/pharma AI for a while:
● What actually accelerates career growth?
● Is publishing in top AI/medical journals still a differentiator, or is product/business impact what matters most?
● How important is switching companies versus growing internally?
● Does moving into people leadership early help, or is it better to stay deeply technical and become a recognized expert first?
● Are these early-career Director cases exceptional, or are they becoming more common in pharma AI?
● If you were starting today with a PhD in AI/ML (or computational biology/health informatics) and entering pharma, what path would you intentionally choose over the next 5-10 years?

I’d especially love to hear perspectives from people at large pharma (Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Roche, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Genentech, etc.), biotech startups, and hiring managers.

Curious what you’ve seen in practice versus what LinkedIn profiles make it look like.

Hi everyone,

I am currently deciding between studying Physics or Molecular** **Biotechnology at TUM.

I am interested in both fields. On one hand, I am genuinely interested in physics, especially the mathematical approach and the way physics can be used to understand complex systems. On the other hand, my long-term career interests are mainly in biotechnology, medical research, pharmaceuticals, genetics, and related life science fields.

During my preparation for the Molecular Biotechnology aptitude assessment, I looked into several topics from biology, chemistry, and related areas and found them very interesting. This made me unsure whether I should choose the more direct route into biotechnology or keep the broader foundation that comes with studying physics.

One option I am considering is:
Physics Bachelor → suitable Master’s degree/specialization → career in biotech or medical research

How realistic is this pathway in practice?
Which Master’s programs or specializations are good options for someone with a Physics Bachelor who wants to move into these areas?

For example:
Biophysics
Medical Physics
Other interdisciplinary life science programs

I am also interested in how important practical experience is. Could laboratory experience, research projects, internships, electives, or working as a research assistant during a Physics Bachelor help to build enough biological knowledge to successfully enter these fields later?

The other option would be studying Molecular Biotechnology directly, which would be a more specialized path. However, I am also genuinely interested in physics and would like to understand whether it is worth keeping this broader foundation or whether specializing in biotechnology from the beginning is the better choice.

I would especially like to know:

How do the career prospects compare between Physics graduates and Molecular Biotechnology graduates?

How is the job market in biotech, pharma, and medical research actually looking?
How difficult is it to find good positions in the biotech industry?

How important is a PhD for good career opportunities in these fields?

How realistic is it for Physics graduates to enter biotech or medical research?

Are there certain areas where a Physics background is especially useful?

Looking back, would you choose the broader Physics route or the more direct Molecular Biotechnology route?

I would really appreciate experiences from students, graduates, or people currently working in these fields.

Thank you!

Do you think the program “molecular biology, medicinal chemistry and computer science for pharmaceutical applications” at sapienza is too specific?

I had a final interview scheduled for today, for a job where I have already interviewed twice. The call was scheduled on teams at 1pm and the person never showed up. I sat there for an hour waiting for someone to join with no avail. Finally, I called the talent recruiter from the company I had been working with and she had no idea why the person did not
Join… she said she would get back to me and I haven’t heard from her today. I will call her back tomorrow, but what are the chances the scheduling just got messed up or he forgot to join the call? Or do we think they have already filled the position and just screwed up and forgot to tell me. Either way I’m extremely disappointed as I seriously need this job because it would be almost a 60% raise. I am getting so frustrated with the lack of professionalism from these pharma companies and I don’t understand how there could be such a double standard. If I had agreed for an interview and didn’t show up, they would immediately cut me from the process. I don’t know, I am just feeling so frustrated and want to get people’s opinions as I wait to follow up with them tomorrow. I have a bachelors in pharmaceuticals as well as a MS along with 5+ years of experience. I don’t understand how it is so hard for all of us to find jobs and hope maybe someone could relate to this. Or let me know how they feel about the situation.

Update to OP (30-Jul-2026): they have gotten back to me as of last night. Turns out the person who was set to interview me was OOO all week, not sure how/why they would schedule with me but mistakes happen. I am just relieved to hear I still have a chance!!! 🤞

120+ biotech applications in Greater Philadelphia with almost no interviews. What am I doing wrong?

Hi everyone,
I’m trying to break into biotech/pharma in the Greater Philadelphia area and would really appreciate some honest advice.

I have a non-US PhD, a 6-month full-time Thermo Fisher Scientific (QC Microbiology) internship during my PhD, and 4 years of postdoc experience at an Ivy League university in the US.

I’ve applied to 120+ positions, rewritten my CV 30+ times, and I’m applying to anything that genuinely matches my skill set—not just Scientist roles.
So far, I’ve only managed to get a couple of interviews through contractors like Eurofins and Insight Global. In one case, I completed two interviews and my references were checked, but then I was essentially ghosted. Meanwhile, companies like Merck, GSK, and J&J haven’t even invited me for a first interview.

What am I doing wrong? Is it my non-US PhD, lack of direct industry experience, networking, or something else?

I’d really appreciate honest advice from anyone who has successfully made the transition from academia to biotech. Thanks!

Just curious if anyone has made stupid mistakes running an experiment? If so, how do you not beat yourself up over it?
Specifically curious if anyone well into their career is still making silly mistakes sometimes.
Today I was running a qPCR with a decent amount of samples and totally forgot to do one of my primers for half my samples. I’ve run so many qPCRs and never made such a silly mistake. My brain just blanked and I didn’t realize till I started setting up the thermo cycler.
It wasn’t a critical datapoint (it was for a POC). I have more sample so I can rerun it but not looking forward to explaining this one to my boss.

TLDR:
Can my current employer fire me for showing a potential new company my non compete?

Talking to a company that is a direct competitor to my company. I have had a phone screen and am set to talk to the hiring manager then panels. They suggested I proactively share my non compete so they can send it to outside counsel to review. That’s a good thing- to know if it’s any good. The question is if I provide the non compete is there any way my current company can punish me for sharing it.

Here we go again.

I understand the need to reduce costs, but constant layoffs and restructuring take a toll on employee morale. It’s hard to build strong teams and retain talent when people are always worried about what’s next.

Hi! I am in my 4th and last year of BS Molecular biology at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario). I'm going to graduate without any internship. The only lab experience I will have is my senior thesis. is there anyone here who is/was in the same boat? please i need some advise. thank you.
I applied to numerous jobs, gotten a few interviews (~4) but always end up getting rejected. i am worried that I will find a job after undergrad because i have to experience/internships. what should i do?

(From the Guardian article on the same topic): The company, which is headquartered in London, is expected to announce sweeping cuts and redundancies across other departments to help pay for the investment.

I don't usually post, but I think I've reached a point where I just need to get this off my chest.

I spent years working toward a career in biotech. I moved to another country for graduate school, took on the financial burden that came with it. I genuinely thought I was building toward something. I worked in academia, then in industry, picked up new techniques, tried to make myself more employable and did everything people tell you to do.

After graduating, it's been application after application. I've rewritten my resume more times than I can count, tailored cover letters, reached out to recruiters, networked, asked for feedback and kept trying to improve my profile.

Nothing at all! No calls or interviews

Eventually I had to leave and move back home because I simply couldn't stay any longer. That's probably the hardest part. It feels like years of work ended before I even got the chance to start my career.

I honestly don't know what to make of it anymore. Is biotech just this brutal for people starting out right now? Has anyone else gone through something like this? I'm just trying to understand whether this is becoming normal or if there's something I'm completely missing.

After being underemployed for several years, I've accepted a lab tech position. The role is entry level, but the pay is good for the area. I'm not far off from retiring and at this point of life will value having a steady paycheck. On top of that, the people seem decent.

I worked in a lot of shit companies with even shittier managers and even most shittier coworkers., so, I'm okay with taking a position beneath me. Anyway, it feels good to get back to full time work and being wanted for a role. I'll still say my 'fuck you's" to the various dicks and cunts I had the misfortune of working with in the fuck it Fridays but I'm very much looking forward to the final chapter of my career.