Customer Reviews

Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development

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Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development by Toby Freedman, Ph.D. (http://www.careersbiotech.com) is an invaluable tool for anyone pursuing a new career or currently working in biopharma.

Applying for a job is a job in itself. When starting this process, it is difficult to remember everything that needs to be researched and considered for this important life decision. Executive support Web sites like TheLadders.com offer helpful pieces of information, but in this book Dr. Freedman seems to have included everything the job-seeker needs.

The writing style is direct and personal, allowing for quick and enjoyable reading. By the end of Chapter 3, the reader can have a personalized list of to-do items that will increase confidence, and set a realistic expectation of the job seeking experience. Chapter 5 covers the Informational Interview concept. It is a key step in networking that I first learned after paying a career consultant $3,000 after I left clinical practice. Networking is how many people gain entry into biopharma. Part 1 of this book prepares the reader to start networking effectively.

Part II of the book is chaptered by career area over the life cycle of the biopharma product. The reader will gain a clear understanding of each step and how they depend on each other. Chapters are full of definitions and detailed explanations of each role, as well as educational and experience requirements for candidates. Each chapter creates a day-in-the-life-of-this-job picture with pros and cons of the job. Section titles such as "Are You a Good Candidate for Regulatory Affairs?" help readers match position requirements with their personal traits. There is even a list of personal characteristics in each chapter to help rule out a position.

I read the career chapters out of order, starting with the career paths I had always intended to explore. Within the first few paragraphs of each chapter, I was able to decide if this position could work for me. Some of the positions that have always sounded like a fit for me by their name were not even close after gaining the full picture.

Relative salaries and potential career path / job security coverage is realistic and helpful. There is equal weight of discussion across positions from Basic Research roles to CEO and from Discovery stage to Commercial Operations. It even includes Law, Recruiting, and Consulting roles, and advice for non-scientists.

Dr. Freedman interviewed more than 200 people working in biopharma to write this book. In a few hours, readers can leverage this extensive experience for their career planning.

Paul Martinetti, MD
President
Network of Researchers, Doctors, and Scientists
Nords.com

Having worked in biopharma marketing and business development management for over 30 years, I am often asked by young professionals working in biotech R&D what positions they might pursue successfully on the business and marketing side of the business. I feel comfortable sharing what the roles, rewards and expectations are for business and marketing functions but don't have the background of actually moving from R&D myself to understand their current positions and the questions they should be asking. In the future, I will now recommend Toby Freedman's book to help them find the position that best fits their background, skills and temperment. I was especially impressed with the extremely valuable information about career ladders inside functions in all divisions as well as great insights where those with "Research bench" experience can move successfully. This book is not just for newly graduated life scientists but for those desiring a transition after years in a function. I was amazed with the breadth and depth of the myriad career paths covered and quality and accuracy of those positions I hadn't expected the author would have understood as well as research.

This book is so multifaceted. It describes very clearly how the various divisions and departments of biopharma fit together. You learn the requirements for each career. You learn about suggested personal traits, comparative salaries, job security, do's and don'ts, pros and cons of each type of position, and how to switch careers within biopharma. You read lists of personal attributes which would contraindicate a particular career choice. You read about a typical day-in-the-life of various positions....

I've read or perused six Biopharma career books, and this is the best one I've found by far! I can't imagine how it could be any more comprehensive, helpful, and easy-to-read!

I had been looking for quite a long time now, a book that would help me understand what the jobs in the pharmaceutical industry were and what the responsibilities in each one of them were.
This book does it all!
It has a ton of information in it and it is very easy to read!
Congrats to the writer, Toby Freedman, she has made it simple for all of us!

For those in life science field who are feeling trapped and searching for alternative career opportunities outside academia, I highly recommend this one. Compare to numerous career counseling books out there, "Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development" (COBDD) is the most informative book I have ever read. Instead of putting lots of weight on self assessment and how to write a resume (don't get me wrong, they are also very important) COBDD is about facts, lots of facts and details about most of the career paths in Bio-pharma industry. After reading the book, you will find out that "industry" is not just a word opposite to "academia". It is not a mystery anymore. You will get an in-depth understanding of a career you want to pursue. The book is well organized in chapters regarding different career path. You can read from the beginning to re-evaluate your decision of switching (knowing what you're getting into and giving a second thought is always the right thing to do before starting anything new) or go directly to the one you have been thinking of for a while. For each career path, you will not only receive a general description of the field, but also detailed information of all aspects, well laid in different sections and sub-sections--just to name a few of my favorites, "a typical day in XXX", "pros and cons of the job", "salary and compensation", "career tracks in XXX", "landing a job in XXX". A really good hand book for job opportunities in Biotech and Drug development it is!

This book is only one I know of that comprehensively describes all of the different types of jobs at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. As most students come out of school, they only know about doing research and this book is a great eye-opener to all of the other types of jobs that a scientist may be qualified to perform. I highly recommend this book to all biology/chemistry graduate students who are starting to think about starting a career in the industry.

This book is superbly organized and is the best collection of information about individual careers in biopharma that you will find anywhere. Having spent 8 years in drug discovery research, I was familiar with many different careers from my own sphere of interactions, but my knowledge of positions outside my area was lacking. It is very difficult to find practical, reliable information on particular careers. What's it like day-to-day? What's the best education and career path into the position? What's the best/worst part of the position? What kinds of people thrive/struggle in this career? "Career Opportunities..." offers thorough and worthwhile answers to each of these questions for a wide variety of careers. Of the 20 chapters on specific fields, I have closely reviewed only 6 or 7 of them that are of the most interest to me, but the information has been so valuable, that it is well worth the price of the book. The book is so well organized that it is easy to flip from chapter to chapter to check out different careers. I wouldn't make a career-change decision based solely on what I read here, but it has certainly made me better informed in my networking and allows me to focus my search and ask my contacts thoughtful questions about the field.

Toby Freedman has written one of the most thorough, well thought out, and helpful guides to obtaining careers in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries (biopharma). The book begins with an excellent overview of the industry, tips on how to break in, a list of the skills needed to succeed in industry, and tips on writing a resume. Nineteen careers are then discussed; the job descriptions and the personality traits and skills needed to be successful in each position are based on interviews with over two hundred professionals in the business.

Chapters include a description of different tracks within each occupation, roles and responsibilities, a typical day, salary and compensation, pros and cons of the job, traits shared by successful people in the field, career potential, experience and education needed, and paths to enter each career. The steps in product development managed under each position are illustrated in diagrams and common career paths leading to each position and subsequent positions to which one can advance are shown in flow charts. One of the best surprises was the pithy statements derived from the interviews and highlighted in boxes next to the text, eg, "It's far better to join a mediocre company with a great boss than a great company with a crappy boss," placed next to a paragraph with the heading: Choose your mentor, not the company.

Last, but not least, every chapter ends with a terrific list of recommended training, professional societies, and resources. This is an essential career guide not only for those wanting to break into biopharma, but also for those in the industry wanting to move up or make a change.

Nancy Gadol, PhD
Veteran Biopharma Scientist and Writer

The first 6 chapters of this book provide general career advice, giving an overview of what is expected in the biopharma industry, what it takes to succeed, how to write a resume, network, etc. The second, and major, part of the book breaks the drug discovery enterprise down into its various stages, describes the role of each step in the process, and details positions available at each stage. The positions described range from those that require a PhD or MD, to those that are accessible to those with a college degree, and so on. Freedman describes the types of positions, typical job titles and career paths, roles and responsibilities, typical tasks, and relative salaries and other compensation. She also describes in detail the pros and cons of each field, how to excel in the field, and what personal characteristics are most often found in those who succeed in that field. She predicts where the field is going and what job prospects will be like, and also talks about how to get started in each field. Finally, each chapter ends with recommendations for training, professional societies, and other resources.

The entire volume is well organized, with important points in callouts, and many clarifying diagrams.

Anyone who reads this book will come away with an understanding of the drug discovery industry, and how complex it really is. Hopefully, they will also come away with several ideas of places they might fit into that industry, and the resources and inspiration to follow them through. Overall, a very thorough book, and highly recommended.

I am making the transition from a career in Hitech to Biotech and found this book to be an amazing resource. First of all, there are techniques for the proper structure and format of your resume as required by this particular field.

The bulk of the book consists of detailed reviews, containing both positive and negative attributes, of all the roles (jobs) that the biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industries have to offer. Unlike most career books this book contains not only the roles and responsibilities but also illuminates the downside or negatives that accompany some positions. Therefore it will greatly help someone entering the field to avoid making a large effort and investment to get a certain type of position only to later find out that they are not tempermentally suited for it. The book is clearly and concisely written with a minimum of fluff but does not get too dry either. A must-have book for anyone thinking of entering the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. I give it five stars.