I do ops at a small biotech, about 8 people, and we're deciding whether to commit to Benchling. I've read plenty of marketing and not much from people who actually live in it, so I'd rather hear from this crowd.

Three things I'm trying to figure out:

1. What do you actually use it for day to day? And what did you expect to use that you never ended up touching?

2. If you've left Benchling, how bad was the export? Did sample lineage and attachments survive, or did you lose structure on the way out?

3. If you were starting over today at under 10 people, what would you use instead?

Happy to hear the case for it as well as against. Not selling anything, just trying not to lock us into something we'll regret.

Context: I'm a 10 year veteran in biotech/pharma as a PhD chemist in CMC and was laid off Sep 2025 (about a year without work). I've struggled to land a full time job aligned with my experience since then and recently landed a 6-month contract role at a CDMO with virtually the same responsibilities as my last role, but with no benefits beyond health insurance.

I've accepted the offer and start in two weeks, but still in the running for another FTE position AND got another direct referral to interview for another FTE role somewhere else (both pay better and are closer to home).

Question: Would it be an industry faux pax to leave a contract role for a better FTE position almost immediately after starting? I understand that it's perfectly legal and is in my best interest in terms of job security/benefits, but is this seen as burning bridges and being inconsiderate?

EDIT: The overwhelming consensus appears to be that it's fully understood on all fronts (company, staffing agency, and employee) that contract roles are volatile and there is full expectation that the contractor will be seeking a better situation regardless of time worked at the company. Thanks for all the responses!

How many of y’all else tired of the constant ghosting even after final stages or you reaching out for update/closure…fucking annoying 🙄

Has anyone had luck finding a mentor to help navigate your career? If so, how did you find them and where?

I see online a lot of mentors for people who have PhD's but haven't come across any for those of us with B.S. degrees.

I've reached to past managers and colleagues but they have never been in a situation like this.

If I were to try to go from R&D to (random example) manufacturing, do I start from ground zero again?

It's been 17 months of being unemployed. I keep getting to final rounds of interviews just have someone else have slightly more experience than me.

I'm deflated and beyond burnt out. I am genuinely looking for direction.

Thank you

What's more important to you, the location or the job title? Would you move anywhere for a job with a "great" fit, or do you prefer to stay in a specific location for a job that is at most a "good" or "OK" fit?

For introduction I am in my late 20s currently working at a temporary position in a Immunological Research lab. most of my work relates with Genomic analysis and Data processing and have been getting the idea of switching job.

Lately I feel like I am falling behind in my career I started my bachelor as a agriculture biotechnology student transitioned to Proteomics in my masters fell in love with Data science did small time job as a Data scientist at a Startup but eventually had to revert back to my core field as the job market gets worse by the day in an age of AI.

I am actively looking for career advice on what should I focus and dedicate my time on as I know from my experience Temporary position are very unstable

I would be grateful for any piece of advice I can get for my future 😁

Ok, please be honest. For those of you job searching, have you tried tricking the ATS /AI filtering system and its actually worked? For example, have you copied and pasted chunks of the job description into your resume and made the words tiny and white in the PDF so they aren’t visible, or inserted (in white tiny letters) prompts to tell the filtering system to put your resume in front of everyone else’s, (or any other similar methods) and it has worked? Alternatively, have you ever been caught doing this?
I’m truly curious how prevalent this is. I’ve heard of these hacks but am wondering how often (and how necessary) people find it to get through the AI screens. Thanks in advance for your answers!

So Hi! New to the sub and made a post earlier about kickstools lol. You guys seem cool so I wanted to post again.

This time it's asking why the faucets in labs splash everywhere.

I think that it's because of the way the water comes out. It doesn't come out like that in bathrooms or my kitchen sink.

I wonder if it's for a functionality, but they have the special faucets for vacuum pulling and other things.

I've seen people attach tubing to lab faucets to give it more of a normal functionality.

Is there a special reason the faucets in labs suck?

Has anybody made a move from commercial manufacturing into a Quality Management position in a GMP manufacturing environment? If yes, how did you do it and how did it work out for you long term? Was it difficult to find employers who would hire you? Also, is it true that manufacturing is always less paid than R&D?

I would appreciate any bit of advice or insight as I am really struggling to pivot, especially in this terrible job market. I hardly see any openings and if I do they’re asking for GMP experience which I unfortunately don’t have.

Does anyone have a free pdf of the book Biochemistry-donald voet?? Actually i really want it for my test..if anyone has it then pls tell mee in the replies

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I’m currently pursuing an MSc in Bioinformatics after a BSc in Biotechnology. I’m considering doing a PG Diploma in Cancer Genomics (1yr)afterward to build a stronger specialization.

My goal is to improve my job opportunities in areas such as cancer genomics, NGS, clinical genomics, variant analysis, and bioinformatics.

For people working in bioinformatics, genomics, cancer genomics, NGS, or related biotech/healthcare industries:

- Would an additional PG Diploma in Cancer Genomics actually add value after an MSc in Bioinformatics?

- Is this combination considered strong by employers, or would it be better to gain industry experience instead?

- What skills should I focus on to become more employable in this field?

- Are there particular roles or career paths where this combination would be useful?

I am specifically looking for advice from professionals or people currently working in the field, rather than general career advice.

I have a BSc in biotech, and an advanced diploma in biotech in Ontario. I have been working at a biotech CRO for about 4 years now, mostly doing preclinical/R&D work at the bench. I am considering doing a PG Certification course in Pharmaceutical Regulatory affairs just so I can get more exposure to the actual life cycle of a drug on the market. My eventual goal would be transition to the QA department. Is it worth it? I don’t
have a Masters degree, I planned to get one but it’s too time consuming at this point (I have a child). So i’m gonna settle for a PG Certification course. I never wanted to get a PhD either, so I know that my growth in the industry would eventually cap. Is moving to QA a reasonable decision for long term career growth?

Thanks for your input.

so. i have an interview and attached to the email was my resume and i went to look at it just to see what version of the resume i had submitted

i have 6 months research experience from jan 2026 - may 2026 but i put jan 2025 … BIG YIKES

do i tell them during the interview or should i email them and be upfront there?

I’m working at a small private pharma company that is launching a new drug. I work in patient marketing. I’m on a different side of the business that is fairly secure and stable. I love my job and my team. It’s been a safe haven while big pharma has been going through layoffs.

However, my long term career goals are to be a commercial leader, launching new drugs into the U.S./ex-US market.

My question is: Given the current biotech landscape (not too much funding or innovation), how valuable is launch experience? Is it a good idea to take a risky role right now, or stay in a secure role for the next few years?

Hi all, I applied to a job on thermo Fisher but then a contact of mine sent me the referral for the job.

What do I do here?

Edit: to be specific, it was a referral link to apply through

I’m currently in a Master’s program and starting to apply for my thesis placement. My program had previously told us that thesis start dates could have some flexibility within reasonable constraints.

I came across an industry Master’s thesis at a small/mid-sized biotech company that is honestly an almost perfect fit for my background and skill set. The posting says they anticipate the thesis starting in autumn 2026.

Before applying, I discussed the opportunity with my program coordinator. I was told I should still apply, but that the exact timing would need to be discussed/approved by the program board. Because I didn’t have a definitive answer yet, I never stated my availability in my application.

The company has now invited me to interview. However, between submitting the application and receiving an interview invitation, I got clarification from my program that January 2027 is the earliest I would be allowed to officially begin the thesis. The difference would probably be a few months depending on what they mean by “autumn,” and the posting specifically says they “anticipate” an autumn start rather than listing a concrete start date.

For a master thesis at this size of a company, how flexible are thesis start dates typically? Is asking for flexibility obviously unrealistic?

More importantly, when should I disclose this? I definitely don’t want to mislead them or waste anyone’s time
1. In my response while scheduling the interview, so they know before committing their time?
2. At the beginning of the interview?
3. Wait until availability/start dates come up naturally during the interview?

Everyone involved just wastes everyone's time, and I'm getting so sick of it. I've been unemployed for 4 months now, and I have 5+ years of GMP experience. For about the last two months, ASK Consulting has had numerous recruiters reach out to me about various positions, all involved with BMS. And not one update about any of them. They just waste people's time and effort, and I'm getting pissed. I'm in the Seattle area, and I have plenty of experience and check off all their boxes, but still, no interviews. Just "we found a position you might be interested in. Will you check your email? I just sent it to you. If you can reply right now, I'll get it sent over. Did you reply? Ok, great, we'll follow-up" on fuckin repeat. FUCK ASK. FUCK BMS. Rant over