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Recap: C-GEM Chats Careers with Chemists in Big Pharma

On Tuesday, C-GEM talked to Dr. Omer Ad and Dr. Sebasthian Santiago, both former C-GEM chemists who currently work at large pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Ad is a Senior Scientist ​​in the biocatalysis group at Merck, and Dr. Santiago is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Amgen Large Molecule Discovery & Research Data Sciences. 

Key Takeaways:

  • The pros and cons: Working at a well established pharmaceutical company is a great way to do research with easy access to resources and funding. The research is more translational than basic science research in academia, meaning your work may have a more immediate impact on human health. However, working in a corporate setting can mean more meetings and time away from the bench to make sure the work you are doing is contributing to the company’s overarching goals.
  • Take advantage of early industry opportunities like internships and co-ops. Industry jobs are often looking for people with industry experience, even in more entry level positions. Graduate internships and more long term co-ops are great ways to get that early experience, meet mentors, and form a network in pharma. It may be difficult initially to convince your PI to let you go for a few months, but an internship (1) offers opportunities for you to build certain skills and techniques you might not have access to in your lab, and (2) can be the impetus for many industry-academia collaborations.
  • Network network network. In a sea of applicants, how can you stand out as an individual? Both Dr. Ad and Dr. Santiago emphasized networking as the best way to get your resume seen by hiring teams. Some of these jobs have hundreds of applicants for just one open position. A referral from an employee might mean your resume stays in the running long enough to be seen by people in the team, and even if you don’t get that job, your name might stick around for consideration as other positions open up. But how do you network? It can be as simple as reaching out on LinkedIn. The important thing is to get people to know your name and what you can do. Companies are also looking for ways to build their own networks, so keep an eye out. Dr. Santiago shared this opportunity from Amgen as an example: R&D Early Career Talent Network.
  • Once you find yourself with a job offer, don’t hesitate to negotiate. Industry is different from academia in many ways, which can take getting used to. The people you interface with as an applicant are, more often than not, HR professionals who are extremely knowledgeable of the inner workings of the company. HR professionals welcome negotiations of benefits, salary, moving costs, etc. After all, the worst they can say is no. Large pharmaceutical companies want to use the resources they have to make sure you are comfortable in all other facets of your life so you are ready to hit the ground running.

Thank you to Drs Ad and Santiago for taking the time to chat about the work they do!

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