New Book: PhD [alternative] Career Clinic

Readers of this blog may remember Jane Chin, who provided some insightful commentary on the realities of a career as a Medical Science Liaison.

Jane has recently published a book which sounds very interesting: PhD [alternative] Career Clinic Read the rest of this entry »


Posted: June 11th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Medical Science Liaisons | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

BIO Career Fair – June 27

Just thought I’d share this announcement I got in my email recently.  BIO is, of course, possibly the largest biotechnology meeting/conference in North America.

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Posted: June 11th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Industry associations, Interviewing, networking | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

How to take transferable skills out of the lab and into a job

Science has a new article on their careers site about developing skills during your education that can transfer into a career outside of academia.  Communication, leadership, and management skills are highly valued in industry and public sector jobs but tend to get minimal attention during the average graduate or post-doctoral program.

“The quality that is hardest to find in the science policy world is the ability to write clearly and quickly,” says John Marburger, Washington, D.C.-based science adviser to President George W. Bush. “Communicating technical material in technical journals does not give you the skills to communicate to nontechnical audiences,” he says.

The article suggests some resources, such as the National Postdoctoral Association, that students and postdocs can turn to for help in understanding and developing these skillsets.  Some of the suggestions in the article will be familiar to readers of this blog — joining Toastmasters or relevant campus clubs, for example.  The suggestion to take charge of a lab responsibility, like radiation safety, as a way of demonstrating leadership is also a good one.

You may have noticed that there’s been a bit of a gap in posting lately.  I’ve actually just started a new job myself, so things might be a little uneven until I get settled.  Thanks for your patience!


Posted: March 1st, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

An affair to remember: jobs in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs

The Regulatory Science program at the University of Southern California offers a variety of graduate certificates, a Masters program, and a new Doctorate geared towards regulatory affairs professionals. In the Regulatory Science program, students learn how to guide medical products and foods through the complex regulatory and reimbursement paths required to bring them to market. Regulatory Affairs is an incredibly important part of the drug development process, and in a very real sense plays the key role in determining the success or failure of a drug development program. Ultimately, it’s a company’s regulatory affairs team that must make the case to the FDA that a drug is safe, effective, and deserves to be on the market.

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Posted: February 21st, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Education, Regulatory affairs | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

The future of CRA jobs

Clinical Research Associate jobs are in high demand. CRA jobs pay well, are often home-based, and offer a relatively high degree of personal autonomy. It’s a job that offers a good mix of solo time as well as working with others, and it’s a job where you can really feel like your work matters, because you’re contributing to the safe development of new drugs that can improve lives. The CRA role hasn’t changed a great deal over the years, with the exception of the increasing adoption of electronic methods for collecting case reports. But the nature of CRA employment has changed and is continuing to shift as companies change the way they do business. This article will discuss the four most common CRA employment arrangements and make some predictions for the future. Read the rest of this entry »


Posted: February 11th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Clinical research, Clinical Research Associates | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »