| DXCAREER RESOURCES |
| Science Jobs in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Lab Tech The entry-level job in most pharmaceutical and biotech companies is the lab tech. Lab techs perform the routine maintenance tasks—cleaning and maintaining glassware, working with animal colonies, operating lab equipment and so on—that are needed to keep labs functioning. The work can be somewhat tedious, but a lab-tech position can be an excellent entry into the industry. A high school diploma is required, and many people with college degrees start here as well. Lab techs usually make from $24,000 to $35,000 a year. Research Associate and Research Specialist If you have a BS or MS degree in some form of chemistry or biology, with previous lab experience, either in school or in industry, you can generally find work as a research associate. Research associates do real science, conducting experiments and analyzing data under the close supervision of PhD scientists. Research associates often have a number after their title (Research Associate II, for example) to indicate seniority. If you’re coming out of school with some lab experience, but no PhD, and you want to work in R&D, this is the job for you. The salary range for research associates is $33,000 to $65,000. Above the research associate is the research specialist (the title varies somewhat—it is sometimes called pharmaceuticals specialist, among other things), who generally has more autonomy and creative input into his or her research than the associate does. Associate Scientist PhDs who have completed their postdocs typically enter as associate scientists. In rare instances, research specialists (without PhDs) are promoted to this level. As associate scientists, they have considerable autonomy over their own research, though they work in fairly close collaboration with a supervisor. Associate scientists design and conduct experiments and write up results for publication when appropriate. They make between $65,000 and $100,000 a year. Scientist The next step up after associate scientist is scientist—a position that requires running a lab, and planning and executing large-scale research projects. Above the scientist is the senior scientist, who oversees the work of several scientists but no longer works in the lab. Scientists at all levels have the option of leaving the science track for management-track positions. Insiders say that for employees who don’t have PhDs (and who don’t intend to go back to school to get one), the management track holds many more opportunities for promotion than the non-PhD science track. A new generation of companies that focuses its energies on the front end of the drug-development cycle is hiring scientists. Those with BS and MS degrees as well as PhDs can find opportunities in molecular biology, biochemistry, combinatorial chemistry, bioinformatics, and statistics. Information-science companies also hire scientists to test software and programming in their labs. The drawback for some is that in such companies, scientists don’t work on the same project for years. They must be willing to let go and move on to the next project as business dictates. Salary range is similar to that of an associate scientist's but can go up to $110,000 on average. |
