Recently received a job offer where I will be receiving shares in the company but not quite sure how this works. Do I get them all at once or is it over a period of time? Or is that something that is company specific and I’ll just have to wait to find out.

Also in terms of selling the stock can I sell it any time I want? Or do you typically have to wait a year before you can sell any granted options

I have just been invited to a principal scientist interview and I dont have a PhD, only MSc and like 5 years experience in the industry, the job descriptions is on NGS and bioinfomatics, which I am experienced in, I am wondering if I should pull out from the interview or just interview since I am shortlisted. Is it possible to be PS without PhD?

Hi I’m studying medicine in Turkey rn is it possible?

I’m doing my MS in Biotechnology at Northeastern right now and would be graduating in 2026. What do you think the starting salary would be for someone graduating from grad school in boston with a co-op as experience ?

Looking to get into a sales position in biotech/ putting my foot into the door. Any advise??? i worked at a dental office years back not sure if i should add that as well. I used the free template that was provided here on reddit. It’s set up better ofc but looks weird on the phone. Any specific roles i should apply for or tweak something? Any advise is appreciated. Thank you.

Hey there, sorry in advance for the information overload, but I typed this out on mobile and thought some details would be important.

TL;DR: How can I balance a Biology job search while I slowly pivot into the bioinformatics field through my Bioinformatics Masters? Especially if I don't have much experience and a non-US degree.

I came to the US in January to start my masters in Bioinformatics at Northeastern University in Boston( It's similar to a PSM, so not research based). I was a fresh grad and was a bit naive, so thought I'd be able to handle a job search while working on my degree, but I tunnel visioned towards keeping up with coursework. I graduated with a bachelors in Biotech in Summer 2023 from a university in the UAE that's at least known well inside the country(ABET accredited), ended up with a GPA of 3.09 with a two month internship at a clinical lab around 2022, and a semester of research experience in the same year. There was a bit of a gap from Aug-Jan '23 where I was focusing on my applications and planning things out.

I've finished about two semesters worth of coursework, mostly dealing with beginner level skills in R for data analysis, bash for bioinformatics, and Python, and was fighting some depression at the time. I think I might need some practice to give myself some solid footing, but my job search alongside my degree AND practicing my bioinformatics skills seem to be looming on top of me, and I feel like I kind of want to focus back on working on a job that could at least keep me a bit stable and get my foot in the door to earn for myself, so I can confidently continue my pivot towards bioinformatics and finish my degree in Fall '25 or Spring '26.

I've currently got my finals coming up for this semester, after which I'm going balls to the wall applying for lab tech/Research assistant/admin assistant or quality control positions. I want to be employed in something relevant by Jan or mid feb-march at least. My plan is to take my courses virtually around then or probably take a lighter course load while I'm establishing myself. I'm also considering volunteering at a campus lab but working for no pay feels a bit...depressing, I'm more interested in the industry than research, though I feel like I could work on something part time for a while to keep me on my feet while I volunteer in a research lab.

I don't have my drivers license but am in the process atm.

Now here are my main concerns

• Does my gap from Summer 2023 to my current time period working on my Masters and relative lack of experience, along with a non-US degree mean things are going to be tough when it comes to finding the jobs I'm looking for? How could I counteract that?

• I'm a bit nervous about really marketing my bioinformatics skills since I'm not quite there yet as a programmer, but I want to put in the effort. I do have a few basic projects in my coursework. Am I right for focusing on my biology background as a result until I get better and finish my bioinformatics degree? I mean, sure, I could apply to internships, but I want to prioritise actual work experience.

• Any tips y'all might have for my job search and building on things would be really appreciated! I'm thinking of also doing a few informational interviews to network with people to better understand how they got in the fields they did and seek further advice.

Hi, I am currently working in the non-pharma field in Toronto but I want to relocate to Montreal. My background: Ontario master degree in biochemistry engineering with 3-year experience in QA French level B1 (currently make my French more fluent) I sincerely hope you can give me some advice!

There is renewed hope for cancer vaccines, and I’m curious about your thoughts on the dendritic cell vaccine Vididencel, developed by the Swedish-Dutch company Mendus (listed in Nasdaq Stockholm). Vididencel is designed to target hematologic malignancies and select solid tumors, and it is now advancing into late-stage development for AML maintenance therapy in CR1. Simultaneously, Mendus is conducting a Phase 2b combination trial with oral azacitidine, alongside an ongoing long-term follow-up study in Phase 2 as monotherapy for AML maintenance in CR1, with new data expected on December 9.

So far, the vaccine has shown very promising results in the MRD+ patient population, significantly outperforming standard-of-care treatments in this group. Notably, Vididencel boasts a very mild side-effect profile while delivering strong efficacy, setting it apart from existing therapies. For example:

-Venetoclax, while highly effective, is known for severe toxicity, making it unsuitable for many AML patients.

-Oral azacitidine, on the other hand, has a milder safety profile but demonstrates weaker efficacy compared to Vididencel.

Vididencel's unique combination of efficacy and tolerability could position it as a game-changing option for AML maintenance therapy, especially for patients who require effective yet less toxic treatments. Its ongoing development and promising data make it an exciting candidate in the evolving landscape of cancer vaccines.

Link to the latest data:

-Active Immunotherapy with Vididencel As Maintenance Treatment in MRD+ AML Patients in CR1 Results in Strong Anti-Tumor Immune Responses and Durable Long-Term Survival in Patients with an Immune Competent Immune Profile:

https://ash.confex.com/ash/2024/webprogram/Paper201374.html

• Vididencel, a Leukemia-Derived Dendritic Cell Vaccine, Acts -Synergistically with Azacitidine/Venetoclax Treatment in a Preclinical AML Model:

https://ash.confex.com/ash/2024/webprogram/Paper207427.html

-Long-term survival in AML patients after immunotherapy with vididencel correlates with functional T and B-cell responses:

https://library.ehaweb.org/eha/2024/eha2024-congress/419524/arjan.van.de.loosdrecht.long.term.survival.in.aml.patients.after.immunotherapy.html

-Vaccination with a leukemic-cell derived cancer vaccine (vididencel) improves anti-tumor immune competency in AML patients correlating with improved survival:

https://mendus.com/news/mendus-announces-presentation-of-multiple-abstracts-during-the-2024-cimt-annual-meeting

-Mendus announces positive survival data from Phase 2 ADVANCE II trial evaluating vididencel as maintenance therapy for AML at ASH 2023:

https://mendus.com/news/mendus-announces-positive-survival-data-from-phase-2-advance-ii-trial-evaluating-vididencel-as-maintenance-therapy-for-aml-at-ash-2023

-Mendus and Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group to expand clinical testing of vididencel as maintenance treatment for AML:

https://mendus.com/news/mendus-announces-positive-survival-data-from-phase-2-advance-ii-trial-evaluating-vididencel-as-maintenance-therapy-for-aml-at-ash-2023

-Mendus and Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group to expand clinical testing of vididencel as maintenance treatment for AML: (vididencel vs oral azacitidine with Dr Andrew Wei as principal investigator)

https://mendus.com/news/mendus-and-australasian-leukaemia-lymphoma-group-to-expand-clinical-testing-of-vididencel-as-maintenance-treatment-for-aml

Assuming my partner makes 70k a year, As a PhD scientist, am I able to do the following

1. put my (future) kids through school (pay for their tuition)

2. Buy property to either rent out or live in

3. Retire one day

Are these possible on a scientists salary? Will I have to penny pinch to do it?

Does meeting these goals become more tenable if I move into a different role in pharma like business strategy, etc?

Thanks

Everyone says that it's the best to present our research experience in a quantifiable way. But I find it very difficult. I understand that we can say about the number of papers, presentations, or how many compounds you screened, etc. But like if I successfully developed a cell line, how can I quantify it?

I would appreciate if anyone can give examples of how they quantify their research for their CV.

Thank you all very much!!

Current: CSO at a medium-sized biotech (1 year of experience) with a total comp of $2.5 million

potential move: CEO at major pharma

what should i target for base + bonus + equity? anyone made similar moves from biotech to major pharma leadership?

The biopharma company Cassava Sciences announced today its experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug simufilam showed no signs of working in a phase 3 clinical trial. Volunteers who took the drug performed no better in cognitive or everyday-life activities than those who received a placebo. The announcement appears to mark the end of the company’s development of simufilam for Alzheimer’s, which has been marked by scandal and controversy.

So I just graduated from my pharmacy degree and now I want to get into the biopharma industry and I have options of doing masters in pharmaceutical sciences and pharmaceutical technology from the UK, but these fields are already saturated and I want a more hands on work. So is bio processing and biopharmaceutics a good masters to land a job in a company and will it be hard for me to understand as a pharmacist. I really need a solid advice as it would decide my career so please help me out. Thanks.

Hello all,

I am a biotech grad with close to 3 years experience working in mol bio labs and microbiology labs, and I am now trying for jobs in biotech (especially downstream processing and protein & antibody engineering). I have tailored my CV to an industrial format, keeping things short and to the point.

Yet, none of my applications have been successful, although I am <fairly> sure I have the technical skills to perform well in most jobs i apply for. Is there something i should be doing that I am not? If i could get some advice on how to transition into industry, it would be of great help.

Thank you in advance ;). (24M, Germany, speaks English)

I'm an biotechnology undergrad in my freshman year,generally I hear people narrowing life science field into two or three categories like pharmaceuticals,microbiology or plant biotechnology.but after researching a lot,I got to know about many fields where people venture in it like molecular biology,bioinformatics,clinical trial data management,sales side of biotech company,precision medicine,send cell and cancer research. But I don't really get which sub field is really lucrative in the sense,generally people expect a better pay(I'm using the word better pay not "high" pay since the whole biotech industry is going through job crisis currently even in USA which is considered to be biotech hub),good job opportunities,better working hours,considerable job benefits or so.do enlighten me about countries which are thriving in any specific fields where people of this specific subfield is getting better pay,job opportunities.

I also developed a casual interest towards fields like bioinformatics,computational biology or biostatistics but I couldnt find a better opinion on people working on this sub field.

Any big biopharmas taking this technology seriously yet?

Hey everyone! I'm about to graduate soon and I want to start applying to research associate/entry-level R&D jobs. Is there anything I should add or change on my resume?

https://preview.redd.it/0k3rpwa9u54e1.png?width=1370&format=png&auto=webp&s=dee45f7612d053dabdec6c8e11f8db8c0788f828

Should I only put the projects that I have worked on that are not published or all projects that I have worked on in the project section?

I am currently a student in high school looking towards what career path to go into and biomedical is my main goal. I am wondering if it is a growing field and if it is worth looking towards going in to. If not, what do you recommend(I can really do anything but I enjoy science/math the most)

Even though neither my parents (74M, 63F) nor I (23M) dyed our hair and I am in the computer science sector, my sisters both dye their hair brown and let their hair dye grow out, meaning that there is some black and some brown at the bottom, kind of like what's seen above.

Will this turn off employers if they see that you have hair dye roots in the interview?

Hello,

Is there a demand for industrial engineers in the biotech industry? Particularly are there any opportunities for engineers with skills in the following:

1. Firmware/embedded systems
2. Automation: PLC/SCADA/robotics
3. Data analytics/discrete event simulations

Hey everyone! I made it to a final interview with a medium sized medical device company next week and need advice! This is my first time interviewing with the Senior Director of the dept for a QA role.

Here's the chronological order of the interviews I've had so far:

1. A phone screening with the company recruiter.
2. A 30 minute teams interview with the Hiring manager that actually lasted an hour because we were having a great conversation.
3. A 45 minute teams interview with the trainer and one other qa personnel that works at that site.
4. A 45 minute teams interview with the associate director and the person who got promoted from the role I am applying for. This interview also went over time because the conversation was nice.

When I first interviewed with the hiring manager, they let me know that the senior director would return from vacation on 11/25, and would quickly be on vacation again, so they weren't sure if the Sr.Dir would want to interview me. That's when I got pushed on to the other panel interviews, and they occurred on the same day. I got good feedback from each interview really quick, like before I could send my thank you emails. The hiring manager said they would make their decision on 11/25, but it turns out that the Sr.Dir did want to interview me. So, that interview was scheduled for next week. I'm still early in my career, and I've never interviewed with someone so high up before. What can I expect? Are there any Do's and Don'ts i need to be aware of? What questions should I ask to really impress the Sr.Dir? I know in this current job market that I shouldn't get too comfortable, so I am still applying just in case.

Sorry if my post seems all over the place, I'm super nervous. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I have a Chemical Engineering degree and I am super interested in Process Engineering in the biopharm space (& in addition MS&T).

In my area, I've been having a hard time finding Process/MS&T Engineering roles. There are a lot of Manufacturing Associate roles, though. I guess I just want someone to tell me that I wouldn't be pigeonholed by taking a Manufacturing/Tech role since I guess I won't be really using my engineering degree (from what I've read about Manufacturing job descriptions.)

I'm a total nerd when it comes to unit operations, I really enjoy reading about the different control strategies, the engineering behind TFF (vs dead end filtration), etc. I also really want to stay in the biopharmaceutical space. I've had some luck in semiconductor process positions- but it seems like biotech is such a hard sector to break into currently.

Thanks!! (Yes I've posted similar questions before, but now that I know more about MA vs PE vs MS&T itd be nice to hear any stories to make me feel like MA is a good choice) :D

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student in Germany, currently pursuing a research-based master’s in life sciences. My goal is to transition into an industrial job after graduation rather than pursuing a PhD or continuing in academic research.

I’m at a basic German proficiency level and am working to improve it, but I’ve seen people with similar backgrounds transition into roles like consulting, project management, regulatory affairs, and other industry-oriented positions.

I’d love to hear from those of you who have successfully made this transition (especially without a PhD):

1. What steps did you take to prepare yourself for industry roles?
2. Are there specific courses, certifications, or skills you’d recommend?
3. How important is German proficiency for these roles, and at what level should I aim to be?
4. Any other tips or resources for networking, internships, or breaking into these fields?

I’d really appreciate any advice or insights from your experiences. Thanks in advance! 😊

I'm launching a biotech x AI venture next year, and I'm looking for both in-person and online communities to find & meet other entrepreneurs in the space. The traditional VC landscape doesn't have as many biotech entrepreneurs.

Current: director R&D Strategy (rare diseases) at major pharma in Bay Area (3 years of experience). $275k base, 30% bonus, 40% RSUs (4yr cliff vest)

Potential move: VP R&D strategy reporting to CEO at early biotech (25 employees, $25M Series A in 2024, Series B mid-2025 targeted >$50m for the raise)

What should I target for base + bonus + equity? Anyone made similar moves from big pharma to biotech leadership?

Hi! I am in my last year into my bachelor degree (biochemistry) in Romania. I want to pursue a Master degree in another country (english taught), preferably in the following subjects: Biotechnology, Genetics, Bioinformatics or Pharmaceuticals. I was thinking about Switzerland, Germany, Belgium or Netherlands, but I am open to other country suggestions as well! What are some options you would consider suitable for me? Thank you!

I initially joined my PhD at Oxford, hoping to go into R&D and also because I breezed through graduate classes and enjoyed research experiences before (i.e. had really supportive PIs and got a first-author paper). However, I don't think I got along well with my advisor and even after finishing my PhD on vaccine research at the end of the pandemic, I only had a few co-author (second and middle author) in high tier journals. All my peers in lab and the department leave with at least one first author paper and that left me very disappointed. I later started a postdoc and had an excellent first year with strong results, but over time I feel like these experiments are getting repetitive and my PI doesn't seem to have a consistent vision for publishing our findings. I feel his funding situation is a bit shaky too.

All this time, my goal was to get into industry somehow. However, the lack of strong publications in my PhD and postdoc makes me feel I may not be good enough to crack it. From my postdoc I also realized that I enjoy certain aspects of research (i.e. formulation, up/downstream processing and presenting results) but not others (i.e. animal work and doing experiments without a clear goal or impact). I've also heard conflicting accounts about how much papers and conference presentations matter in applying for jobs; some say a lot, others say not at all. If any of you want to chime in, which is it from your experience?

I'm still young and I think if research is not my strength or passion, I'm fine with exploring alternative career paths to find what I'm good at. I'm considering consulting because I've done an internship before and loved it, plus I enjoy learning about different industries, running businesses of my own as well and engaging with people. I do wonder sometimes if going on this path means I'm leaving the biotechnology industry for good.

I’ve been interested in retirement planning and I see myself working into my 60s assuming a “traditional” retirement age (though I wouldn’t mind retiring early if I am ever in a comfortable position). Been living frugally, minimizing debt, maxing out on my retirement funds, and seeking career development with higher pay every once in a while. However, one thing I haven’t really thought too much about is long range planning, particularly mapping out my career growth/development for when I approach T-minus 5 or 10 years might from retirement.

So many questions…

• Out of curiosity, for those of you either retired or more senior in your careers, can you share how age has factored into your or your colleagues’ career projection?
• Would you be able to comment on ways you’ve seen ageism occurring in the industry?
• Is there ever downside to getting promoted too quickly?
• How do you tell whether someone is in a “dead end” job, and it’s time to pivot?
• Finally, what kind of advice or warning signs should we watch out for to avoid getting screwed as we gain mileage in this field?

Thank you all so much in advance for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Are issues with data common or just an occasional headache? And when there are issues, what seems to be the most common? Ive heard of data being “dirty” and vendors not meeting deadlines, but how common is that really?

Edit: when I posted, I was mainly thinking about data for clinical phases 1-3 since that’s what I am most exposed to in my role