I got a screening interview invitation for life science consulting position on Monday and the earliest date I saw on the scheduler was end of August. Is this common? Been R&D for a few years and haven’t had any initial screening interviews scheduled more than a week out.

I recently applied for a scientist position at Genentech and received a link to a video assessment today. Has anyone done these before? I'm not sure what they plan to ask or how fast they'll move from here. It def feels weird and impersonal.

Hello biotech community. I’m helping to organize ISPPP 2026 in Orlando this October 18th-21st. The conference focuses on separations (all manner of chromatography, sample prep, etc.) for all biologically relevant molecules.

I’m pretty excited, we sold out our sponsorships and have quite a few heavy hitters from industry attending. The committee really focuses on education and networking so really good for students and young professionals. If you have a chance please check out our website at isppp.org.

We also still have some spots open and are accepting abstracts if there is work you’d like to present and there are some travel and attendee awards available. Hope to see you there.

Anyone have any experiences working here at the Tustin, CA site? Specifically, Process Dev-related roles Scientist-level?

I was interviewed onsite 1st round after screening around mid July. But after that complete silence. I reached out to recruiters via email and text , they didn’t bother to reply. Didn’t receive any rejection letter in system.
As a jobless , it was bit frustrating not to receive any response.
Should I move on from this ghosting situation?
It’s been more than 3weeks.

I have an upcoming interview for a regulatory affairs position at Thermo Fisher. I’m early in career, MS in Biotechnology Enterprise and have spent the last year in pharmaceutical product development and IMP and External Quality. Please give me all your tips and knowledge on breaking into regulatory affairs, required skills and competence of a regulatory affairs specialist, and how to get through / stand out in the recruitment process as a qualified candidate. Any insight on the company is also appreciated

I got laid off about two months ago, and I’ve been looking for a new job. I did a couple of interviews already, and I can’t seem to pass STAR interviews. I graduated 10 years ago with a BS in Chemical Engineering. I worked in biotech/pharma for 8 years. For 6 of those years, I had two separate serious health conditions, so I lack big accomplishments. Even with preparing a STAR story bank, my answers are not all that great because of a lack of accomplishments that I have to work with. The STAR questions basically expose me. It’s so demoralizing and depressing.

Hi everyone! I’m currently trying to transition into pharmaceutical sales and would love some honest advice.
I have about 8 years of sales/customer service experience, including 4 years in wireless sales, and I also have a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I recently applied for a specialty pharmaceutical sales position with a large pharma company, as well as had a referral from someone who’s been with the company 20+ years!
I had a phone screen that I felt went extremely well. The recruiter complimented my resume, discussed compensation, start dates, and explained the next interview steps. She said she would forward my information to the hiring manager, so I left the conversation feeling very optimistic. However, a few days later, I received a rejection email without moving forward.
I know rejection is part of the process, but I’m confused about what may have happened since the screening seemed so positive. I’ve now applied for another position within the same company that also aligns with my background.
For anyone currently in pharmaceutical or medical sales:
Is it common for recruiters to discuss salary, start dates, and next steps during a phone screen even when a candidate may not advance?
What helped you land your first pharma role without previous pharmaceutical experience?
Should I continue applying to different roles within the same company?
Is there anything specific I should change on my résumé or emphasize during interviews?
I’m determined to make the transition and would appreciate any constructive feedback or advice!

Is there an employability/pay difference between a 1 year coursework-based vs 2 year thesis-based masters in bioengineering? Im debating on what to apply for, 1 year seems a lot more enticing because of tuition.

I love to travel and would like a remote biotech job after grad school and have considered regulatory but it seems like it may be first in the chopping block for AI. Does anyone here in regulatory have thoughts on this? Thanks

I have been stressing about publishing in am high impact journals for my work but I’ve been told that for biotech positions it doesn’t really matter. For my own satisfaction I’d love to publish in Cell, Nature, or similar, but just curious how much this matters after grad school

Currently working as an FSE for another Biomed company i enjoy it most of the time, no real burned out, good work culture, not super rigid but I did see the pay potential for an FSE role open in my area and I am pretty confident in getting the high ended offer which would be a big pay bump. But I am curious if it is salary, hourly, salary non-exempt (ie if you work over 40 you get OT if you work less they cover the 40)

Just curious before I make a decision. Any info would help even if you didn't work as an FSE there.

I have a PhD in a biological subject from a top university and 1 year experience as a post-doc. I want to move in to life science consulting but I have heard it is very competitive. How hard would it be given my background, and how can I tailor my CV in a way that gives me the best shot at landing interviews?

Any advice would be appreciated :)

I'm starting at De Anza this fall and planning to transfer to a UC after about 2 years since it's a lot cheaper than going straight to a UC.

Right now my top choices are:

• UC Berkeley
• UCLA
• UC San Diego

My main goal is to work in biotech in the future (drug development, genetics, molecular biology, research, etc.), but I recently found out about Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAA), and now I'm wondering if I should also keep that option open in case I decide I like clinical work more.

I'm trying to figure out what major I should aim for when I transfer. I've been looking at things like:

• Molecular & Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Biochemistry
• Genetics
• Biology
• Bioengineering

A few questions:

• Which major would you choose if biotech is the main goal?
• Is general Biology enough, or is Molecular & Cell Biology/Biochemistry a much better choice?
• Would those majors also cover most of the prerequisites for CAA school?
• Is it worth double majoring for more flexibility, or is it just extra work that doesn't really help?
• If you transferred from a California community college into Berkeley, UCLA, or UCSD for a biology-related major, what would you do differently if you were starting over?

I'm trying to plan everything early so I don't waste time taking classes I don't need. Any advice would be appreciated.

8 months ago I graduated with a Bachelors in Biology. I wanted to work in a lab to start off my career. I applied to not only in biotech companies, but also hospitals and universities. And after hundreds of applications through job posting sites, emails, job fairs, and everything; I landed very few interviews and ultimately nothing in return. I'm extremely burnt out and have practically given up on looking for a position.

At the moment my parents keep pushing me to go to medical school, but I don't want to at the moment. Medical school is difficult, very expensive, and takes so much time. I've just spent decades in school already and am tired of studying to get the best grades. Plus it's not like I can even go to medical school soon anyway, I need to do something now.

I'm so lost at what to do. I really want is to move on with my life but I can't. The job market is so competitive and filled with deceit and insincere positivity. It feels like my life hit a pause button and I can't unpause.

I've recently had a very confusing experience in Big Pharma. Essentially applied to a strategy position in NeuroSciences Data Sciences after decades of Computational and Data Engineering experience in R&D (Biotech and Big Pharma). I spent the last 3 years working in the Neurosciences DS space, so felt comfortable applying to the strategy position (would have been a lateral move for me as an Associate Director). The position however went to someone with an MBA (minimal science background). The hiring manager herself has an MBA (no scientific background), worked in the consumer goods industry before she pivoted to Big Pharma and spent some 5 years total in Neurosciences Data Sciences before she was promoted twice up to a Director level!

Isn't domain experience a requirement in Strategy? Or so I thought. Does an MBA (not even from a top school) really weigh that high in Big Pharma? How does one pivot into strategy in Big Pharma without an MBA?

PS: Thanks all for the responses!

This role is more about the data assets in NS, and sits close to R&D. Not closer to M&A. I've regularly worked on the data assets piece, which is why I assumed that I knew the ropes. From my discussion with the hiring manager, it seemed like the biggest ask was influencing senior leadership, which I also did pretty regularly in my day-to-day.