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Company Cultures in Pharma and Biotech
Big Pharma Culture
Big Pharma companies are card-carrying members of corporate America. People are “more collegial than in banking or consulting,” says an insider, but still generally formal and businesslike. These are process-oriented firms—there’s a right way and a wrong way to do most things, and your job is to do things the right way.

There is also a clearly delineated hierarchy. People in this industry know who and what they are responsible for and to whom they have to answer. As another insider puts it, “Everything runs like clockwork, and you know what’s expected.”

Biotech Culture
Compared to Big Pharma, the biotech world is like the Wild West. The difference is partly geographical: With the notable exception of the thriving biotech scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts, most biotech action is in casual California. But there’s more to the distinction than time zones. Pharmaceutical companies know their game—the oldest ones have been playing it for a century.

The biotech industry, on the other hand, is only a few decades old, which makes for a more improvisational workday, workweek, and work year. On a cultural level this translates into a democratic, freethinking, chaotic, and often confusing workplace.

Change Is Constant
Biotech insiders say that change is the only constant, even in big biotech. “The company’s mission is constantly in flux,” says an insider. “Once you start generating revenue, there are pressures to be earnings-driven instead of scientifically creative. The company you came to work for is not the company you work for now.”

The Industry Overall
Biotech companies also tend to be more casual and less stereotypically businesslike than pharmaceutical companies. Many biotech people look down their noses at Big Pharma.

Across the biotech-pharma spectrum, industry culture tends to be rather brainy—a function of the fact that the industry is driven by a highly intellectual research process. In addition, most people in the industry really believe in what their companies do and genuinely feel that they are helping to make the world better.

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The Good and Bad about Biotech and Pharmaceuticals
The Good Stuff

Changing lives. Most people in this industry believe deeply in what their companies do. As one MBA puts it, “When you’re in the pharmaceutical industry, yeah, you’re there to make money, but there’s also the underlying fact that you’re doing something that is going to make a huge difference in thousands of people’s lives.”

The good life. Although there’s some debate as to whether industry scientists work fewer hours than their academic counterparts, they most certainly earn more. And they don’t have to hustle for money. “It’s nice not always having to worry about funding,” says one insider. MBAs, for their part, can hit six figures not long after coming out of school without having to endure the travel and long hours imposed on classmates who opt for consulting or banking.

Hey, that guy’s pretty sharp. “A lot of brilliant people are attracted to this industry,” says one recruiter. And while many of these industrial-strength geniuses are attracted by the research opportunities, it’s often the presence of fellow thinkers that they find most enjoyable. “It is definitely a more intellectual industry than most, which is great,” says one insider.

Choose your own adventure. If you like having the rules spelled out and an obvious career ladder, sign on with a pharmaceutical company. If, on the other hand, you don’t think you can take the hierarchy but don’t want to give up the perks of a large company, try a large biotech company. If you want to be on a first-name basis with the CEO, a startup is the place for you. It’s all here. You decide.

What to Watch out for

Business first. In the final analysis, the companies that compose this industry are just that—companies. Their chief aim is to maximize profits, not save lives, and this goal is reflected in the decisions they make. If you end up working on the world’s 13th drug for high blood pressure instead of the world’s first drug to treat some incurable disease, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Consolidation blues. “There’s always the risk of layoff,” says an insider. “I don’t care who you are [Big Pharma or startup biotech].” Widespread mergers and acquisitions mean that Big Pharma simply doesn’t offer the job security of yesteryear, particularly if you’re in administration or manufacturing. While your experiences will likely serve you well in finding a new job in the industry, no one enjoys being laid off. And a merger can be an adjustment even if you keep your job. “Every time you turn around it seems you have a new title and you’re still sitting at the same desk,” says a veteran of three consolidations.

The living dead. The vast majority of promising compounds (5,999 of every 6,000) fail to develop into marketable drugs. So if you’re working for a small biotech company, there’s a serious possibility that your company’s efforts will never produce a marketable product. This could transform the small, vibrant company you joined into a stagnant mire. If you’re considering a stint with a biotech shop, evaluate its prospects as thoroughly as possible, and heed an insider’s warning: “You don’t want to end up among the living dead.”

The MS shuffle. A few people without PhDs make it to scientist, but the vast majority [with a BS or MS degree] hit a ceiling at the research specialist level, between five and ten years into their career,” says one veteran of industry labs. For many people this is fine—it is a comfortable, reasonably well-paid job that allows for a healthy work/life balance. But if you have grand career ambitions and want to stay in science—and don’t have a PhD—you may find more frustration than fulfillment here.

Keep me in the loop. Because work is done in teams, meetings rule. One recruiter’s advice to scientists, “You won’t just be working at the bench,” might be considered an understatement for the kind of interaction required. And one result of the attempt to keep team members informed is a tendency to err on the generous side when copying people on memos. “I get 200 e-mails a day,” reports one insider. “And the majority I don’t need to see.” While the same could be said in many other industries, the situation is aggravated by the tremendous volume of documentation required in the highly regulated sector of biotech and pharma.

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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.

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Pharma and Biotech Lingo
Science Jobs in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
The Good and Bad About Biotech and Pharmaceuticals

Pharma and Biotech Lingo
Every industry has its own argot; pharma and biotech is no exception. The definitions that follow are designed merely to get you started; we don’t pretend that they’re comprehensive.

Bioinformatics: The management and analysis of biological research data using advanced computing techniques. Particularly important in genomics research because of the large amount of complex data generated.

Breakthrough drug: A drug that offers a dramatic step forward in terms of efficacy, side effects, dosing, and/or price—Claritin and Viagra are recent examples. Breakthrough drugs often get coverage on the evening news or talk shows.

Clinical trial: Four phases of rigorous tests establish a drug’s safety and efficacy for humans. Phase I tests a tiny group of healthy people to determine the safe dosage range and track how the drug is metabolized by the body. Phase II tests a midsize group of patients who actually have the condition targeted by the prospective drug. Phase III increases the test group to more than a thousand patients and uses a double-blind, placebo-controlled protocol. If a drug is clearly more effective than a placebo and causes no serious adverse events, the manufacturer submits a new drug application (see below). Phase IV is a post-marketing study done after drug approval.

Contract research organization: A CRO oversees the clinical trials required for FDA approval of a drug.

Contract sales organization: A CSO helps sell and market drugs for companies that lack the resources to do it themselves.

Detail: Usually a verb in pharmaceutical sales. To detail is to provide a doctor with information about a product, particularly with the help of a company-produced visual aid.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing: Prescription-drug advertising that targets laypeople rather than physicians. This is the hottest segment of industry marketing.

Ethical pharmaceuticals: Products, including biological and medicinal chemicals, used to treat disease in humans or animals, promoted mainly to health-care professionals. This category may include both over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

Formulary: A managed care company’s list of reimbursable drugs. When a patented drug goes off-patent, it is usually kicked off the formulary in favor of a cheaper generic.

Generic (or off-patent) drug: Once the patent on a drug expires, anyone can manufacture and sell it. An entire generic drug industry does precisely that, and since generic drug companies have no R&D costs to cover, they can sell any off-patent drug at a 50 percent to 90 percent discount.

Genomics: The study of genes and their functions. Genomic research is revolutionizing our understanding of the mechanisms of disease and revealing thousands of new biological targets for drug development.

Good manufacturing practices: GMPs are manufacturing regulations established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that require companies extensively to document their ongoing manufacturing efforts. If you work in quality assurance or quality control, GMPs will exert a large influence over your life.

Investigational new drug application: When a company is ready to begin testing a drug on humans, it submits an IND application to the FDA, which then has 30 days to accept or reject it. If the application is accepted, the company proceeds with Phase I through Phase III clinical trials.

New drug application: A company’s final FDA application to sell a prescription drug. It is not uncommon for an NDA to be 50,000 pages long; FDA review typically takes between one and two years unless the drug treats a life-threatening illness or one that has no effective pharmacological treatments. In such cases, the FDA often gives the application a priority review, sometimes cutting the review time in half.

Over-the-counter drug: A drug that can be sold directly to consumers, without a prescription. Most new OTC drugs started out as prescription drugs.

Patented drug: A drug that is under patent to a pharmaceutical company. A patent on a drug lasts for 20 years. When it runs out, competitors can produce and sell the drug as a generic.

Pipeline: A company’s collection of drugs in development. Since drugs are patented for only 20 years—and it can take a decade or longer to bring a drug to market—pipeline strength is a key predictor of a company’s success.

Quality control/quality assurance: The folks who work in this area make sure that drugs are manufactured in accordance with FDA regulations Note to scientists: Don’t limit yourselves to R&D—opportunities abound in QA/QC.

Recombinant DNA: Think of it as DNA that has been combined with other DNA and then replicated. It is made by putting foreign DNA, such as bacteria or yeast, into the DNA of an organism so that the foreign DNA is replicated along with the host DNA.

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Industry Overview

While huge company mergers, initial public offerings, and other big business transactions may make the headlines, most of them never could have happened with out the hard work and long hours of a solid investment bank behind them. When the law requiring the separation of commercial (what we traditionally call a “bank” from where you deposit and withdraw money) and investment banks (that work with companies and governments to raise and invest money) was repealed in 1999, it caused tremendous upheaval in the industry. Since shortly after the stock market crash of the 1920s, commercial banks and investment banks had needed to be separate companies, but today most financial institutions have their fingers in both pies.

Investment banks are experts at calculating what a business is worth, usually for one of two purposes: to price a securities offering or to set the value of a merger or acquisition. Securities include stocks and bonds, and a stock offering may be an initial public offering (IPO) or any subsequent (or “secondary”) offering. In both cases, I-banks charge hefty fees for providing this valuation service, along with other kinds of financial and business advice.

When banks underwrite stock or bond issues, they ensure that institutional investors, such as mutual funds or pension funds, commit to purchasing the issue of stocks or bonds before it actually hits the market. In this sense, I-banks are intermediaries between the issuers of securities and the investing public. I-banks make markets to facilitate securities trading by buying and selling securities out of their own account and profiting from the spread between the bid and the ask price. In addition, many I-banks offer retail brokerage and asset management services. Retail brokerage services deal directly with the customers, allowing individuals and small organizations to purchase stocks, bonds and other financial service products directly. Asset management services include creating and overseeing a portfolio of products or services, generally for a wealthy individual or organization.

Not surprisingly, the center of this industry rests in the lofty aeries above Wall Street and Midtown in New York City. Other hot spots include London, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. Firms also compete in Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and other foreign markets 24 hours a day.

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Investment Banking
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Career Overview

Big bucks and long hours are the hallmarks of the investment banking industry. After all, keeping on top of the world’s financial markets can be an almost 24/7 job. But the financial rewards—not to mention being a part of some of the big-name business deals that you see in headlines—can make the grueling hours an adrenaline-based rush.

Investment banking isn't one specific service or function. It is an umbrella term for a range of activities: underwriting, selling, and trading securities (stocks and bonds); providing financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisition advice; and managing assets. Investment banks offer these services to companies, governments, non-profit institutions, and individuals.

The action and players in investment banking are still centered around Wall Street and midtown Manhattan in New York City along with a few other money centers around the world, such as San Francisco, London, and Tokyo, but the list of players is getting smaller as the industry consolidates. Today, leading banks include Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan Chase. These and other firms are regular visitors to campus career centers.

What You'll Do
The intensely competitive, action-oriented, profit-hungry world of investment banking can seem like a larger-than-life place where deals are done and fortunes are made. In fact, it's a great place to learn the ins and outs of corporate finance and pick up analytical skills that will remain useful throughout your business career. But investment banking has a very steep learning curve, and chances are you'll start off in a job where the duties are more Working Girl than Wall Street.

Wall Street is filled with high-energy, hardworking young hotshots. Some are investment bankers who spend hours hunched behind computers, poring over financial statements and churning out spreadsheets by the pound. Others are traders who keep one eye on their Bloomberg screen, a phone over each ear, and a buyer or seller on hold every minute the market's in session. Traders work hand in hand with the institutional sales group, whose members hop from airport to airport trying to sell big institutions a piece of the new stock offering they have coming down the pipeline. Then there are the analytically minded research analysts, who read, write, live, and breathe whichever industry they follow, 24/7.

Who Does Well
You shouldn't go into banking just for the money—the lifestyle is too demanding. To survive in investment banking, much less to do well, you'll need to like the work itself, which requires the research ability of a skilled investigative journalist, the focused attention of a surgeon, and the physical endurance (to withstand the long hours) of a marathon runner. Of course, you also have to have top-notch analytical skills, which allow you to spot market trends and oncoming industry changes.. And, quite honestly, even if you love the work, an investment banking career can still be a tough road. If the market or your industry group is in a slump (or if your firm suddenly decides to get out of a certain segment of the business), there's always the chance that you may find a pink slip on your desk Monday morning.

But, if you like fast-paced, deal-oriented work, are at ease with numbers and analysis, have a tolerance for risk, and don't mind putting your personal life on hold for the sake of your job, then investment banking may be a great career choice. But if this doesn't sound like you, a job in investment banking could turn out to be a bad dream come true.

Requirements

First, if you're an undergraduate, you'll want to try to get an internship—it's the best way to secure an eventual offer. If you're an undergraduate from an Ivy League school with a great GPA, bidding recruiting points is still a favorable option—however, college recruiters are usually sent from the prestigious bulge-bracket firms, and not the smaller, specialized niche firms, or boutiques. It's important to discern the type of bank for which you are best suited, so conduct your own independent research. Big firms tend to have more turnover than smaller niche firms, which may better nurture their investment in training you.

If you're not an Ivy League graduate, and recruiters haven't been breaking down your door, networking is your best bet. Use your school's alumni and your neighbors and acquaintances to get in touch with someone at the I-bank of your choice. If you're a good student who is truly interested, you've got a shot.

If you have an MBA or other advanced business certification, you'll be paid more for a position than someone with a fresh BA. But those with prior experience always get first shot, so be sure to get an internship. Industry expertise and prior corporate finance work can also be a way in, but you'll have to be patient.

If your degree isn't in business, take heart in the knowledge that banks are increasingly encouraging applications from candidates with specialized resumes in order to better appeal to a growing client base.

Job Outlook

Undergrads and MBAs from top schools are recruited for a number of openings that is small even in the best of times. Competition is fierce, so if you’re not from a top-tier school, you may need to be more resourceful and persistent than those who are. Doing an internship in investment banking is essential to breaking into the field in today’s business environment. Networking is key; make use of your alumni network.

Undergrads vie for two-year positions as analysts. If you do well, depending on the firm, you may get to stay for a third year, perhaps even abroad.

MBAs compete for fast-track associate slots, and international assignments may be available for those who want them.

Midcareer people are recruited by headhunters or hired on an ad hoc basis for positions at various levels. Though relatively few people come into the industry from other fields, it can be done, especially by those who have a technical background in a specific industry and an aptitude for and interest in finance. Otherwise, expect to start at the bottom.

Career Tracks

While the various groups within an investment bank support each other, the work and responsibilities in each group vary.

Corporate Finance
Investment bankers are like financial consultants for corporations—which is precisely where the Corporate Finance Group comes into play. As a member of Banking or CorpFin, you serve the sellers of securities—Fortune 1000 companies in need of cash to fund growth, and private companies that are looking to complete an IPO—by buying all the shares or all the bonds a company has for sale, which are then resold by your firm's sales force to investors on the market.

Many investment banks divide their corporate finance departments into industry subgroups, such as technology, financial institutions, health care, communications, entertainment, utilities, and insurance, or into product groups such as high-yield, private equity, and investment-grade debt.

As an investment banker in corporate finance, you will underwrite equity and debt (bond) offerings, help firms devise and implement financial strategies, analyze their financial needs (such as how to structure balance sheets and when and how to proceed with funding initiatives), and work with the sales and trading departments to determine valuations for new offerings.

Mergers and Acquisitions
The mergers and acquisitions group (known as M&A) provides advice to companies that are buying another company or are themselves being acquired. M&A work can seem very glamorous and high-profile. At the same time, the work leading up to the headline-grabbing multibillion-dollar acquisition can involve a herculean effort to crunch all the numbers, perform the necessary due diligence, and work out the complicated structure of the deal. As one insider puts it, "You have to really like spending time in front of your computer with Excel." Often, the M&A team will also work with a CorpFin industry group to arrange the appropriate financing for the transaction (usually a debt or equity offering). In many cases, all this may happen on a very tight timeline and under extreme secrecy. M&A is often a subgroup within corporate finance; but in some firms, it is a stand-alone department. M&A can be one of the most demanding groups to work for.

Public Finance
Public finance is similar to corporate finance except that instead of dealing with corporations, it works with public entities such as city and state governments and agencies, bridge and airport authorities, housing authorities, hospitals, and the like. Although the basic services (financial advisory and underwriting) and the financial tools (bonds and swaps, but no equity) are similar to those used for private sector clients, numerous political and regulatory considerations must be assessed in the structuring of each deal. A particular key issue involves how to get and maintain tax-exempt status for the financial instruments the client will use.

Research
Research departments are generally divided into two main groups: fixed-income research and equity research. Both types of research can incorporate several different efforts, including quantitative research (corporate financing strategies, specific product development, and pricing models), economic research (economic analysis and forecasts of U.S. and international economic trends, interest rates, and currency movement), and individual company research. It’s important to understand that these are "sell-side" analysts (because they in effect "sell" or market stocks to investors), rather than the "buy-side" analysts who work for the institutional investors themselves.

As a researcher, you'll meet with company management and analyze a company's financial statements and operations, provide written and oral updates on market trends and company performance, attend or organize industry conferences, speak with the sales force, traders, and investment bankers about company or industry trends, develop proprietary pricing models for financial products, make presentations to clients on relevant market trends and economic data, offer forecasts and recommendations, and watch emerging companies.

Compensation

All right, like any good banker, you want the bottom line. Exactly how much are these guys going to pay you to sign your life away? Salaries at investment banks, even for nonprofessional staff, almost always consist of a base salary plus a fiscal year-end bonus. Bonuses are determined at the end of each year and are based on the performance of Wall Street, as well as the performances of your firm and department and your contribution to them. If your firm has a year like Goldman Sachs did in 2006, those bonuses can skyrocket. Base salaries tend to be relatively low at the entry level (well, let’s say moderate), and bonuses are discretionary. While the real money in investment banking comes from bonuses, your take-home pay from year to year can go through swings of more than 100 percent, especially when you move up in seniority.

Another useful point: Firms often have different methods of calculating employee bonuses. Some allocate a portion of profits to a particular department while others divvy up the proceeds among the departments according to performance. Others use a commission structure based on revenue instead of profit. Some firms are more generous than others, and policy can change, too.

Undergraduates: $45,000 to $55,000 with a possible $5,000-plus signing bonus at bulge-bracket firms, plus an annual bonus contingent on market success.
MBAs: $100,000 to $170,000, including bonuses, for associates; for VPs this can shoot up to $200,000 to $300,000 or more.
Summer interns: up to $2,000 per week.

A final note: Investment banking opportunities, of course, exist outside the bulge bracket and outside New York. But if you go to work for a boutique or regional bank, don’t be surprised if your compensation is not as hefty as that of your bulge bracket peers.

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Ask the Expert: College Sophomore Wants Tips on Becoming an Investment Banker

Dear Frank,
I am currently a sophomore in college with a tremendous amount of interest in getting started in the brokerage/investment banking industry. I am willing to do anything to attain such a job. I am particularly interested in trading.

Unfortunately, I go to a school that doesn't have brokerages or investment banks recruiting on campus. I would like to know if there is some sort of mold that these firms are looking for, other than graduating from Harvard. If there is such a "mold," please let me know so I can do my best to start trying to fit it, so I can be more competitive when it comes to my senior year and I am looking for a job. Keep in mind I will do anything to fit this description so no ideas are too ludicrous for me. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Help,
Pat

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Information Technology
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Career Overview
E-mail, personal computers, and the Internet: These products of the information age have become common currency among working professionals. They make your life simpler by enabling faster communication, providing tools for more effective work, and giving you access to vast information with the click of a mouse. But they also introduce a risk factor that isn't totally within your control: If your computer fails or the network connection goes down, you lose time and possibly money.

What You'll Do
That's where information technology (IT) specialists come in. Information technology brings you the information and applications—such as word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software—that office workers everywhere rely on to do their jobs. IT specialists create such products and set up and maintain such systems. Their work varies widely: They upgrade your computer software; get your office computer network, or your computer, up and running again after it crashes; set up and maintain the servers on which your company's internal applications run; create and customize the software products you use; build websites; and build and maintain the databases that you rely on to gather information to serve your customers.

Who Does Well
IT professionals wear many hats and go by different names, depending on their area of expertise—engineer, programmer, website producer, and network administrator, to name a few. The range of IT jobs is vast. And the skills needed to set up an office network—install the cables, configure the computers, and keep them running—are quite different from those required to set up and customize an automated-payroll software system. A database specialist needs still other skills to administer the ever-changing complex of information generated by enterprise software applications and the company website, including files on visitors who have signed on as members or purchased something.

But no matter what job they do, all IT professionals focus on improving the usability and efficiency of technological systems and processes. Their goal is a smoothly functioning computer network—free of bugs, glitches, and interruptions—that provides an effective flow of information so the company can keep on improving its work processes, customer retention and acquisition, and other aspects of its business.

Requirements
There’s a broad range of jobs in IT, and not all positions require technical skills. “The best tech support people we had,” one insider says, “had humanities backgrounds.” Technical, communication, and business skills are all important to the field, and four-year college degree programs—not necessarily in computer science—are still one of the best ways to prepare for entering the IT job market.

Employers look for relevant skills and experience. A degree in computer science tends to be most important for database developers and software engineers. Certificate programs are more common for support and system administration specialists (see the “Certification” section that follows for more information). On-the-job experience can substitute for either academic credential, though for people just entering the job market, a degree is a tremendous advantage. Computer science majors and MBAs in particular might consider a minor or double major in a second field. Though not required, this additional credential can be useful, particularly when working in IT for non-IT companies. For example, a biology minor will prove very handy to a software developer working with an insect database at a university research center. Because IT is part of so many industries, a secondary field can be anything that interests you—film, chemistry, history; whatever your interest, it’s likely that it will complement an industry searching for IT workers.

Certification
A certificate is almost always a prerequisite for a job in information security, and a number of common acronyms appear beside the names of successful security professionals: CCSE (Check Point Certified Security Expert), CCSA (Check Point Certified Security Administrator), or SCSE (Symantec Certified Security Engineer).

Network and system administrators are also increasingly turning to certification programs like those offered by Microsoft and Red Hat. However, formal training is less important for system administrators than for many other kinds of IT professionals.

Education is not a process that ends when you land a job. Part of working in IT is learning new technologies. Since the field is constantly changing and evolving, today’s hot tech skills identified by Dice.com—Java and Linux—are just that. Next year, the list will change. Even today, the list is in no way complete. “People who are good at Excel are always loved,” one insider says. Every job comes with its own list of requirements, and however careful you are at selecting your skills, you will need to update them and pick up new ones over the course of your career.

Job Outlook
Today’s economy is riddled with uncertainty. Since January 2000, as many as 10 percent of the leading Internet companies that received formal venture funding closed their doors. A recent Computerworld survey reports that 70 percent of IT departments have dropped or delayed “especially innovative projects” in the past 2 years, mainly due to budget cuts, and that nearly 25 percent of surveyed IT workers have concerns about job stability. Thirty-seven percent of workers reported that their work environment was stressful.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers reports that the number of computer-related jobs in the United States dropped from 2.98 million in 2003 to 2.96 million in the second quarter of 2004—a trend blamed on one of the industry’s most hotly contested issues, outsourcing. Even financially healthy, non-IT intensive businesses are spending less on computers and peripherals; prices for these technology goods are declining. You might wonder: Is a job in IT a mistake?

Though the trends may sound bleak, they don’t reflect a decrease in the use of information technology. In fact, because hardware prices declined more steeply than investment, the seemingly dismal trends actually reflect growth. The computer infrastructure is growing, as is the need for new software and new people to program and service equipment. In June 2003, the Department of Commerce reported that IT professions are among the fastest growing and highest paying jobs in the economy. A 2004–05 Bureau of Labor Statistics report claims that the software publishing industry is the most rapidly growing sector of the economy, predicted to grow by more than 68 percent between now and 2012. Despite the downturn in IT-intensive industries, there is still demand for highly skilled technical workers, particularly in nontechnical economic sectors.

Career Tracks
IT jobs break down into two general categories: back-end and front-end work. Back-end work involves supporting networks and databases. Front-end concentrates on improving the user-interface realm, such as the design and navigation of a website. Though careers in IT depend on the needs of a company, some of the more common IT jobs are described below.

Software Engineering
Software engineers are programmers who write the code that makes software products run. In a traditional sense, they design, develop, and debug application software—the programs you use for word processing, managing your finances, or learning foreign languages. However, as software becomes increasingly Web-enabled, engineers' work increasingly focuses on Internet tie-ins. For instance, a team of engineers might design a bank's online checking system or develop the multiplayer Net version of a CD-ROM game.

Network Engineering
Network engineering involves building and maintaining a company's back-end technology. Network engineers implement a local area network (LAN) for intra-office communication and a wide area network (WAN) to support an Internet connection, and they make sure that all workstations, hubs, servers, routers, and switches work.

Network administrators and systems-support staff help improve a company's efficiency and output by building and upgrading employees' computers, downloading software, backing up information, setting up e-mail accounts, and so forth. "Net admin" staff also spend a significant amount of time responding to emergencies such as hacker attacks or virus threats, troubleshooting new applications, and fielding a never-ending barrage of computer-related questions from staff members.

Database Administration
Companies conducting e-mail and direct-marketing campaigns maintain huge databases on customer preferences, purchase histories, and demographics. Using this information, promotions are devised based on customers' previous behavior. Database administration includes back-end support for these information banks.

The database administrator (DBA) develops, implements, updates, tests, and repairs a company's server database. Since the database stores information on thousands—even millions—of customers and potential customers, maintenance is a formidable task that often requires a project team. The DBA is responsible for monitoring performance, archiving and backing-up information, and assuring the security of the confidential information stored in the system.

Web Production and Development
For a company to establish an online presence, it must create and maintain a website that communicates its mission and promotes its product. Web producers translate the management's vision into a graphically designed, HTML-coded website. They are also responsible for posting, updating, and quality-checking content on websites.

Cooperating with graphic designers and a team of Web developers who code the content, Web producers establish objectives, goals, and plans for the site's future. Their job is closely tied to the identity of a company—Web producers uniquely liaise with various business functions to produce a site that represents the company as a whole.

Not to be confused with Web producers, Web developers engineer Internet-specific software to post and update information on websites. Instead of working in a programming language, developers use markup languages such as HTML and Javascript to create pages of text, images, and hyperlinks for site visitors to use.

Quality Assurance
The quality assurance (QA) team is the last line of defense against mistakes before a product or website is made available to the public. For example, in computer hardware companies, QA engineers oversee the production process, ensuring that a flawless machine is consistently assembled. In companies with an online interface, QA checks a site's features, interface, and navigation, ensuring they are bug-free and fully functional before they are posted. In both cases, a QA technician locates the sources of problems so developers can remedy them before distribution.

Compensation
Compensation varies widely in IT jobs depending on skills, company size, and industry. However, the following median salary ranges are typical:

Software engineer, entry level: $48,000 to $59,000
Network administrator, senior: $64,000 to $81,000
Hardware or circuit engineer, entry level: $41,000 to $51,000
Database administrator: $69,000 to $92,000
Web producer: $65,000 to $82,000
Web develop, front endr: $55,000 $76,000
QA analyst, entry level: $48,000 to $68,000

Information Technology Job Listings
Database Administrator
Hardware Engineer
Industrial Designer
Management Information Systems
Programmer
QA Engineer
Quality Assurance
Software Engineer
System Administrator
Technical Support
Technical Writer
User Interface Designer
User Interface Specialist
Web Designer
Web Developer

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Information Technology Career Profile

Ask the Expert: Changing Careers From Social Research to Technology

Dear Frank,
I am a 32-year-old with a background in research methodology and statistics. I have an undergraduate degree in psychology and MS in social research. I have worked in the field for the last six years. While employed in this area, I have had the opportunity to work with teams on improving business processes using technology.

I am in the process of making a career switch to working with Cisco routers, bridges, and switches. In preparation, I've been taking classes that prepared me to take my first level of Cisco certifications. As part of the course that I am currently taking, I completed 44 hours of lab work configuring Cisco routers and bridges.

I just wanted some advice on how to position myself when interviewing and on my resume.

Thank you,
Changing Careers

Dear Changing Careers,

It sounds as if you're moving over to a technology-oriented role from a research role. You'll definitely want to rework your resume so that it focuses on your newfound skills and coursework as well as functional skills that are transferable from your previous career to the one you're moving into. As well, you can and should spend some time talking about your transferable as well as new skills in your cover letter.

Then, when interviewing, explain your reason for the career switch: Why did you go through with it? Again, emphasize the skills you gained in your previous roles, and how you imagine those applying to your new career.

It sounds as if you have excellent communication skills, the ability to work effectively with people, and strong research and problem-solving abilities. All those qualities, along with the certification, should be impressive to employers.

Good luck,
Frank

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Industry Overview

Even though it's only a few decades old, by now the computer software industry has a much-storied past. We've all heard the tales of iconoclastic young entrepreneurs who started companies in their garages and went on to become among the most rich and powerful businesspeople in the world. Indeed, names like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are better known in many circles than the names of the latest pop music stars.

Today, programming's adventurous and maverick past is still alive; all over Silicon Valley, as well as in other tech hot spots like Boston and Austin, visionary software developers are trying to come up with the next "killer app."

Computer software products accomplish discrete tasks and are sold as complete packages. Categories include applications, such as word processors and Web browsers; operating systems, such as Windows and Linux; and utilities.

Most software purchases are made by businesses seeking better tools to manage the complexities of running operations, record keeping, and controlling the flow of money in and out of an enterprise. It's not always the quality of the code that determines the most successful software, but how well that software meets an actual business need. Probably the quickest way to talk yourself out of a job in this segment is to make the technology seem more important than the end user.

Marketing is critical to the success of any software product, partly because there are so many companies competing in the software market and partly because computers are still new to a lot of people and business processes. In fact, in many companies that produce software, the marketing department calls the shots.

At the other end of the totem pole, technical writers are employed at most computer software companies to write user documentation, either as manuals or, increasingly, as online help. The industry also employs—in descending order of technical expertise—software testers, customer service reps, sales personnel, and staff for the usual array of business functions, from HR to accounting.

Want to learn about current industry trends and major players? Learn how.

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How to Prepare Yourself for a Mid-Career Transition
You're already thinking about making the change. And you're beginning to surf for stories about job changing, reinventing yourself, and finding workplace satisfaction. Now what?

Navigating a Sea of Open-Ended Questions
Work is just one expression of life. When your once-satisfying job no longer gives you the same enjoyment, it may be time to consider preparing yourself for another, more meaningful pursuit. Being "finished" with your current role is the first step toward opening yourself up to the possibilities of a career transition. But how do you break out?

Seven Perspectives to Define Your Direction

1. Go back to school. Retraining can help you build the credibility necessary to switch careers after an injury, epiphany, or geographic change. Going back to school gives you a chance to learn a new role, how to break into it, and what a new industry is all about. It'll also give you a chance to learn the lingo you'll need to talk shop with prospective employers.

2. Think of your interchangeable skills. Begin viewing your daily tasks as items in a skill set that can be applied across different industries. For example, legal-support and executive-secretarial workers possess, by virtue of job description, basic management skills. Complex organization, scheduling, computer, and human resources skills build good managers, and successful administrative support-staff members have those skills in place.

3. Package your skill set for maximum effectiveness. Do all of the stuff the resume guides suggest. Think of your contributions to an organization and the positive results. Unashamedly list them. Go into some detail when you draft your resume, then pare back. Get feedback on your resume; adapt it as you learn, through networking conversations, what employers want.

4. Make a values-driven life change. If once-satisfying work has lost its meaning because you've grown beyond your current position (and just now noticed), examine your values toward family, productivity, leisure, personal growth, health, and community to make sure you choose a field that complements those values. Meaningful work can involve many things.

5. Talk to friends, mentors, coworkers, and your boss. Get others involved in helping you find what you want to do. Talk to your coworkers and boss—it may be that you can find a role in another part of the organization where you can excel. You can also cushion the shock of leaving by letting them in on what you're thinking, even as you use your employer-sponsored tuition reimbursement benefit (provided you have one). Though, of course, in today's especially tight job market and down economy, there may be no room for movement at your company. And, in that case, voicing your dissatisfaction may be the wrong thing to do.

In that case, focus your efforts on your friends and mentors, who can also give you insights into what you might do; it's likely they'll have contacts among people with whom you can start networking.

6. Investigate local resources for career transitions. Don't expect employment agencies to help. They like the sure thing and the quick commission. However, other avenues to different industries exist in community colleges, non-profit organizations that specialize in mid-career transitions, and university extension programs. See what's out there.

7. Use visualization to try on different jobs. A common psychotherapeutic technique, visualization can be used not only to see situations differently, but to see different situations. Relax and envision yourself as an artist, a real estate agent, a mathematician, a cop, or a rock star. How do you look in that role, going about the day? What part of the job do you like the best? What holds your interest? The information you gain from this exercise might help you find a path to a new career.

The Cost
You'll pay a price to break away from a stable, respectable career track. But you pay a price to stay on that track, too. When the price to stay exceeds the price of changing, you're ready to make good on your intentions and trade in your old work life for a new, more satisfying one.

After all, we spend a lot of time at work. We might as well enjoy it.

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