Early Career Perspectives from Large Pharma, Software, and Start-up Companies

Abstract

We are often approached by PhD students and postdocs who wonder: What are the differences between jobs for computational chemists across different industries? This Perspective aims to answer this question by comparing our personal experiences as early career scientists at a large pharmaceutical company (large pharma), a software vendor (software), and a biotech start-up (start-up) in the format of a written Q&A panel discussion. To begin, we introduce ourselves by answering questions about our backgrounds and current positions, including comparisons of our responsibilities and the culture of the companies where we work. In the next section, we focus on the beginning of our careers, discussing the skills we needed for our first industry positions and what we learned early on. Finally, we address questions about the future of our careers including potential growth, security, and what we wished we had known earlier. We conclude by comparing and contrasting our industries, including how the size and purpose of these companies have affected our experiences.