How to evaluate pharm industry opportunities?

[brsadmd]

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Question is geared for those working in drug industry but open to anyone

What are things you consider on deciding when to change jobs in pharm/biotech industry and what jobs to take and how those factors weigh on your decision to switch? What do you prioritize in your next opportunity, career move? Is title really important and climbing the ladder as fast as possible a good thing? Or can climbing up too fast sometimes be bad as you'll see less experienced leaders and can demoralize other colleagues who put in more time and effort to get where they are? Or does it just depend?

I'm seriously considering switching jobs and debating on what potential position to take, whether to prioritize higher title in my field, or prioritize potential pipeline and opportunities/company. I'm ignoring geography and hiring manager for now as hiring managers/bosses can change and bosses generally are good. I will be leaving pretty good benefits for less benefits but more opportunities to develop, learn, see things...hopefully. I'm looking at things from a regulatory job perspective and sticking to oncology but other job functions are welcome to chime in.

Do you prefer small or large companies, the pros and cons of large v small companies?

I'm also curious about workplace politics and how people view/handle promotions, tips on being successful and getting promoted, how to avoid feeling stuck and not advancing, managers. Career advice on moving up basically

Thoughts, experiences on why you changed jobs, what drove the decision, and did it work out as you well as you thought, are appreciated

 

[lord999]

You are acting like a chooser, which is not the case right now as rightsizing is in order. You should search the forum as this has been covered well by actual Pharma veterans. You should be asking, 'Why would industry want me?' and if warm body is the answer, this line is moot.

 

[M0df]

Just curious but what do you do right now?

 

[brsadmd]

Just curious but what do you do right now?

Regulatory. Really just curious about how people evaluate multiple potential opportunities/offers.

Of course not everything is professional based. I know some choose jobs because of commutes, family, kids, etc. But from a pure professional standpoint, what do people think about? Pipeline? job stability, located in pharm/biotech hub? title? pay? etc

There's no 1 answer to this so was curious what others' experiences were when deciding when to leave, why to leave, why join 1 company over another.

 

[Jbrl]

Regulatory. Really just curious about how people evaluate multiple potential opportunities/offers.

Of course not everything is professional based. I know some choose jobs because of commutes, family, kids, etc. But from a pure professional standpoint, what do people think about? Pipeline? job stability, located in pharm/biotech hub? title? pay? etc

There's no 1 answer to this so was curious what others' experiences were when deciding when to leave, why to leave, why join 1 company over another.

Would pose your question to pharmacy/biotech/pharmaceutical industry subreddits. Not many pharma professionals here

Quick answer -

• Don't ever be afraid of "climbing the ladder too fast." You wouldn't be promoted if no one in your org believed in you. You'll hit a point where you either want to coast or continue the climb
• Pay vs. title vs. content is not an either/or and I would think about it more like one of those spider diagrams. You want all 3 ideally, and how you prioritize is up to your personal goals when that doesn't happen. For long term the latter two are better to prioritize but pay will generally follow anyway
• Small company vs. big company is personal preference. Very generally, small = wear more hats, faster paced/less red tape, more opportunities for advancement, higher upside, more development-oriented, more risk/less stable, less brand cachet. Reverse that for large company
• To put yourself on the path to advance - cultivate relationships with people in org, take on stretch roles while performing well in your current one, stay close to important products and high growth areas. Senior leaders will take you along with them as they themselves advance; make it easier for them

 

[check1099]

1) Where there is a will, there is a way. Regardless of what people say.

Anyways, small companies are typically easier to promote, large companies typically are like big cruise ships--they take a lot of people to move it in one direction or the next. Politics depends on which dept you are in at the company. In research, people can be more friendly, data-driven, and promotions can be based on variety of things. Could be completely different at the same company if in CMC dept, or business or clinical. I personally like innovation based roles, however this is up to what your goals are in your career. IF you are pre-med, but interested in healthcare administration, startups, management, then you may enter a pharma company in a more business role. If you are interested in a physician scientist role, you might go for that drug discovery route. Feel free to PM for more details!

 

[Hels2007]

Half the questions are very personal and what's right for person A won't be right for person B. The other half is a lazy ass asking for a book about everything pharma. Nothing really merits an answer. You want quality answers - come back with quality questions.

 

[Argentium]

Jbrl and Hels are both quite successful in industry and I would take their advice. A few bits of food for thought:

• Generally speaking, broad breadth of responsibilities and experience begets title/pay, assuming you can sell your experiences in an interview and build strong relationships within your org - obviously having everything is great, but strategically, I optimize for experience/responsibilities.
  
  
• Big pharma experience is transferable everywhere, small pharma experience is less so -- I have optimized for blue chip experiences early in my career with the intent on moving to smaller companies mid/late career with a title/pay bump in order to optimize for larger equity grants later in my career
  
  
• Your discounting of quality of boss/mngmt and your direct team members is frankly stupid since this is more important than almost every other factor in terms of quality of life, pay, promotion cycle, opportunities, etc.

 

[wazoodog]

Pay vs title vs growth & development opportunities are all important. Hard to prioritize what's more important at any given point in time - it'll keep flexing.

Its good to challenge yourself and seek to advance, but its also prudent to be aware that it is possible to get into a role you're not ready for. If it involves something you're going to need more direction in, then you're probably not ready to jump into a role where you're expected by management to begin with a running start and be fairly autonomous. A good line manager will be able to adjust, but at least half won't be that kind of manager. I have seen people with good potential make transitions into more challenging roles which they weren't ready for- because the new group expected and needed them to come in with a certain set of skills and had limited patience to train them up. Its sad to see because you can see their confidence deteriorate, develop a sense of feeling lost and just get stuck in a cycle of non-motivation. A good and experienced line manager could have been the difference.

As for the rest, I think you packed in like 10 or more questions or requests for info. They're all things I'm sure you're curious about, but it will make it easier for people like me to give you more focused responses if you frame your questions in a more focused way.