Chapter 3: Job and Career Opportunities in the Pharmaceutical Industry: An Overview

Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry offers a wealth of job and career opportunities for talented graduates and (young) professionals in the life sciences, i.e. Bachelors, Masters, PhDers and Post-docs in pharmaceutical sciences, medicine, biomedical sciences, biotechnology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, data science, biostatistics, veterinary medicine and many more. This chapter gives an overview of the many possibilities, often poorly known to young graduates. The core of the chapter is structured in three parts. The introductory part explains what is understood by the pharmaceutical industry and its place within the broader life sciences sector, with key data on its employment potential; and describes the essential phases of the drug life cycle, i.e. discovery research, development (pharmaceutical, non-clinical and clinical), and commercialisation. The main part overviews the different job opportunities throughout the drug life cycle, possibilities in overarching supportive functions (e.g. regulatory affairs, quality management, pharmacovigilance, medical/scientific writing, project planning) as well as in more general business management roles (e.g. business intelligence, portfolio management, business development and even human resources, information technology, finance and legal affairs). The final part focuses on career perspectives in the pharmaceutical industry and beyond: first describing what is needed for a successful start, then following with a few thoughts about career development, and finalising with some information on the wide range of potential career paths within this fascinating sector. For more detailed information, the reader is often referred to the other chapters of the book or the list of references.