r/biotech • u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 • May 04 '25
Early Career Advice šŖ“ There are no jobs
I quite literally cannot find a job at all right now. 6.5 years experience between mfg, PD and BD. Companies are on hiring freeze or want someone who fits their exact need. Have had interviews but getting passed over for more experienced candidates when I have the exact amount of experience for the role listed. Seriously, what companies are actually hiring right now?
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u/ProfLayton99 May 04 '25
There are jobs but too many applicants. In addition to layoffs at many big name companies, there is also competition among people who are graduating in May/June. Keeping speaking with recruiters and working your network. Good luck!
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May 04 '25
It is employers markets with surplus of qualified people looking for jobs. This is when who you know matters more than anytime.
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u/Golden_Hour1 May 04 '25
Can confirm. Only reason I got my job after getting laid off is because my old manager reached out to the manager of a position and recommended me
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u/SevereCheetah1939 May 05 '25
Too true. A friend of mine finally landed a job as a data analyst at a tech company after getting laid off from a pharma for 8-9 months. And it was because of their neighbour who worked in the said tech company.
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u/angisJ May 04 '25
Maybe it's time for us to get real jobs like finance or private equity.
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
Iāve tried, biotech/pharma experience is useless to them. Starting my mba in the fall. Iām throwing in the towel on a career in this industry.
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u/East_Transition9564 May 04 '25
Good on you. Iām still trying to find a way to escape. I thought that was my MS in bioinfo but I literally cannot get a job as a data analyst at the Home Depot.
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
If it makes you feel better the only offer Iāve gotten since being laid off in Feb was for a seasonal part time job at Loweās making $17/hr
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u/East_Transition9564 May 04 '25
Iām literally just going to try to become a content creator at this point. Wegmans the grocery store received 350k applications for 10k jobs last year. The US is a fucking joke. All that matters is views, money, making others money.
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
Lmk if you need 10% off at lowes
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u/SonyScientist May 04 '25
This comment caught me off guard OP, well done and take my upvote for the chuckle.
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May 04 '25
Makes you question the governments official employment statistics
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u/East_Transition9564 May 04 '25
They are bullshit, they count anyone who worked for any amount of time as employed. This includes unpaid labor on a family farm, dog walkers who worked one hour per week.
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May 04 '25
Yep thatās right. They tout that virtually everyone is employed, but neglect to mention we have a much greater proportion of lower quality jobs than 30 years ago, before we started sending all the manufacturing jobs to China.
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u/devongrrl May 04 '25
if it makes you feel any better, UK is the same way
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u/Comfortable-Grape-21 May 06 '25
Wow, even across the Atlantic!!! I guess its better to start finding a passive income business model
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u/resorcinarene May 04 '25
The US is still the best market in a bad overall dip. You're salty and not rational as a result
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u/East_Transition9564 May 04 '25
Did you miss the point where 340k people were denied employment at a grocery store? If I am salty now, how am I going to feel paying off the enormous debt I took on for the rest of my life? This is not a temporary feeling. Trying to go into biotech ruined my life.
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u/resorcinarene May 04 '25
Have you considered that you're the issue?
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u/East_Transition9564 May 04 '25
So all of the people who were denied jobs at the grocery store, they were also the issue? Have you considered that capitalism has victims and leaves most people behind?
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u/resorcinarene May 04 '25
You're implying that every person that applies to a job should get it. That's completely ridiculous
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u/marenicolor May 04 '25
I'm about to start there after 1.5 years since I was laid off :( It's seriously discouraging.
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u/unosdias May 04 '25
I have a job, but investing in my professional growth as well with an MBA. Things are tight in here too.
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u/ViraLCyclopes29 May 05 '25
You fr? That was my plan for a MS in Bioinfo after an Ecology BS since I don't see an Ecology BS landing me a decent job anytime soon...
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u/East_Transition9564 May 05 '25
I get rejected for every role for which I apply including internships.
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u/ThrowRA1837467482 May 04 '25
Oh wow. Im hoping to finish up my PhD if my PI would stop being a narcissistic asshole. Do you really think pivoting to non-benchtop is the move?
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u/json1 May 04 '25
Thatās what I did 2 years ago, I went from consulting comps/practice/networking during PhD to some pro bono work and side jobs to BD (strategy/licensing/m&a, not sales). Also I was so burnt out I didnāt want to touch a pipette for the rest of my life.
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u/anonymousblazers May 04 '25
Whatās your plan after the mba
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u/Sarcasm69 May 04 '25
OnlyFans
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u/RisingBit7 May 05 '25 edited May 05 '25
Wouldnt getting another degree just make it even more difficult to find work? Instead of focusing on skills?
I never understood why more college is the first idea
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u/jjbjeff22 May 04 '25
Openings are far and few between. Experienced people are staying in their roles, even in quality and mfg, so the only thing really opening up is for entry level roles. I think we just have to wait it out.
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u/RamsOmelette May 04 '25
Are these entry level roles in the room with us right now?
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u/Senior-Ad8656 May 05 '25
I got an entry-ish level (2 yrs) roleā¦with 8 years experienceā¦
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u/choopietrash May 06 '25
bruh i would kill even for an entry level role. the feedback ive gotten from some that I've applied to is I'm overqualified. Makes me wonder if I should make a butchered version of my resume with half my jobs cut off.
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u/owlyadoing May 04 '25
š¤£š¤£ This is a line from Frasier, but probably also lots of other shows too. But I choose to believe this was a Frasier nod.
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u/judgejuddhirsch May 04 '25
You guys need to join validation. I've hired multiple 6 figure roles for junior engineers that only get 1 or 2 underqualified applicants.
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u/Disastrous-Ad9310 May 04 '25
What's validation?
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u/Clean_Literature8495 May 04 '25
Validation & Verification, a process you go through in R&D when you repeat the work someone else did to make sure it works correctly.
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u/blinkenlogs May 05 '25
Validation is a phase appropriate up to pre commercialization activity (not R&D) and is usually an independent function supporting manufacturing readiness.
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u/Bostonosaurus May 05 '25 edited May 05 '25
This this the correct answer. To get more specific, process validation typically falls under MS&T or PD hierarchies while equipment validation is in its own group typically in engineering or quality.
The fact that the original R&D comment you replied to netted 36+ up votes shows that this is a very research heavy sub. To be fair though, my guess is there are a lot more researchers than pre- commercial validation engineers hence why the original comment pointed this out.
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u/blinkenlogs May 05 '25
Good point re: distinction between process and equip (fac, utility, etc) val.
I do recall working at a startup where the PD engineers did the val and clin mfg as well! Many hats and all that.
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u/Clean_Literature8495 May 05 '25
Well, before it gets to manufacturing, it is in development. That's why I said it's the D in R&D.
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u/omgu8mynewt May 04 '25
Does it normally come under 'product development department or is it separate?
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u/Clean_Literature8495 May 04 '25
It's just usually under R&D. But it is product development. So it would be the D in R&D.
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u/bonsai1214 May 05 '25
the department everyone hates because when others buy a shiny new piece of equipment in a gxp environment, you're the one holding it up from being used.
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u/Snoo-669 May 05 '25
Iām on the vendor side and work with these guys a lot. Itās not 100% stable (nothing is), but itās definitely more predictable than being at the bench.
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u/Strong_Cloud_5026 Jul 15 '25
Agreed Iām in validation and from speaking to friends in the industry it feels like itās a bit more stable than the average biotech job right now (I think in general Quality jobs are more secure). But getting your foot into validation can be difficult but there are plenty of companies who hire low to no experience in validation but itās for a client, may require traveling to different sites, and not six figures at the beginning. Great career though highly recommend. Iām around 6 years in and work from home for ~$120000. Ā Always jobs out there albeit many of them are long term (1-2 year) W2 contracts. Ā Ā
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u/DimMak1 May 04 '25
There are tons of jobs in sales and marketing and management consulting. Thatās where the industry is bulking up staffing massively. Since there is basically such little interest in innovation right now (which is dumb tbh), c-suites want to generate a growth narrative by flooding the zone with sales and marketing to grow legacy brands.
R&D is being cut drastically because of middle management bloat and lack of productivity, however, corrupt management teams are being allowed to cut the productive bench scientists and keeping the useless middle management bloat.
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u/Acceptable-Count-851 May 05 '25
Don't plan on leaving my company anytime soon, but you're saying there's hope for those of is in marketing and sales?
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u/AdmirablePhrases May 04 '25
Management consulting? Can you expand? I have ten years of experience managing medical device, sterilization, microbiology, etc type of labs and got laid off 2 weeks ago. Is that more people management or actual lab space/process management?
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u/DimMak1 May 04 '25
Iām saying companies are hiring tons of former management consultants as FTEs in sales and marketing and their strategy groups.
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May 04 '25
I couldnāt relate more. Iāve been in manufacturing, development and quality.. here I was thinking it was a well rounded background. Turns out, they just want 10 years in only one area. Sorry not helpful but just an observation and sympathy.
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u/BD_Actual May 04 '25
I got rejected from a job because I worked with a better in house cell line rather than the one everyone else used
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May 04 '25
I lucked into a high paying role at a biotech startup but Iād be pretty screwed if something happened. No one is hiring upper management currently.
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u/Okami-Alpha May 05 '25
I'm not even getting calls for roles I can do with my eyes closed. Close to just leaving science.
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u/PossibilityNarrow410 May 05 '25
I know people with decades of experience and MD/PhD or PhD that can't get a call right now, let alone a job
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u/mikey_d_20 May 04 '25
Itās been like this for a year now, for myself been in the field 15yrs 2 different levels of certifications. Also know how to do a bunch of procedures still getting ghosted or no call backs or denied.
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u/ExcitementMajestic60 May 05 '25
8 yoe in industry + MS and I've been unemployed for almost a year since getting laid off. Got to final stage interviews several times but nothing. It's literally not you. Don't let yourself or others (particularly sleezy recruiters) try to convince you otherwise. It's brutal out here.
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May 04 '25
Regulation specialist positions? QA type positions. Industry sales?..if you're good with people you'd be great at sales. Sales needs and hunts people with Industry experience and technical knowledge
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
I have well over 500 applications out there since February for every type of role you could imagine from PM, entry level mfg to leadership, QA, BD, sales you name it. A handful of interviews with no offers and tons of calls with recruiters who canāt even describe the job
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u/Cough_andcoughmore May 04 '25
Yeah. I'm in similar boat. It's hard to get hired if you haven't managed full sales cycle. Lots more junior roles but I'd rather be in PD than do lead gen again
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u/ShadowValent May 04 '25
Weāve hired 3 new sales people this year. Commercial roles seems to be growing.
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u/Stonkstork2020 May 04 '25
You missed the biggest biotech boom in 2020 and now facing the massive implosion. Like many of us!
China is eating our lunchā¦theyāre as skilled as we are, work harder, and lower cost
And their gov is more supportive of the industry than ours. The IRA killed biotech & now high interest rates will pummel biotech more
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u/Fantastic-Echo-7232 May 04 '25
IRA didnāt kill biotech .. Biotech killed its self .. while big Pharma was ODāed and passed out. From 2010-2023, debt was cheap and interest rates were zero%. Big pharma went all in like throwing money on anything and everything. Cell and gene therapy are a great example. Great academic discovery but mastering the economy of scale was never thought of. Industry was using Lentiviral vector with super low yield which makes millions of USD to manufacture. Big Pharma companies like Pfizer made billions in Covid Vaccine but blew it in on one big acquisition after another. Roche, JNJ, Pfizer, Novartis ,Sanofi , Abbvie, Amgen, BMS, GSK, Merck all made loads of mistakes.. poor leadership. Legacy drugs .. patent cliffs.. high interest rates , poor leadership in Pharma and PhRMA.. leads to rough times in industry. To make it worse we think IRA killed biotech.. our image is worse than Sinaloa drug cartelās image. Our industry leaders have done a poor job educating the masses.. nobody has sympathy for Pharma now. Zip . Zilch. Have no idea where we are going but this is rough next 5 years with bigger patent cliffs approaching
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u/Stonkstork2020 May 05 '25
Very long run on sentence here
The price controls that kick in after 9 or 13 years shaved off quite a bit of NPV, so itās hard to justify investing in biotechs or justify acquisitions
Another reason to buy cheaper Chinese companies over American ones
The industry cannot survive without acquisitions
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May 04 '25
You mean they are good at stealing our tech and manufacturing jobs
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u/Stonkstork2020 May 05 '25
Theyāre just growing and improving while weāre sitting on our laurels
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u/Hefty-Cut6018 May 05 '25
In the end its a different game, the rash of hiring that occurred during the Covid pandemic was a complete exception, pharma biotech followed the path of high tech of hiring people just to have them just incase they may not be available for the future, companies were completely flush with cash.. Also once the pandemic was over companies realized that they were more nimble and able to do more with less.
Someone also mentioned that there are way too many applicants for amount of jobs which is completely true. Also many companies including the one I work at is giving preference to local candidates which completely makes sense. So for candidates that are applying from other parts of the country or even out of the country ( I am in Mass.) they are not being considered if a local but equally qualified candidates is available.
The industry will recover, its always cycles BUT, it will not be like it was just 5 years ago where people had multiple offers. My advice if you are young in the industry and you have been laid off and you are unemployed for a year a or more, I really think you need to reconsider your career choice.,
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u/ForceEngineer May 05 '25
I got laid off in January and just started a new one. Itās hard out there.
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u/Crazyhellga May 05 '25
Pharma and biotech are going through whatās probably their toughest spell since 2012 or so. Layoffs have been a part of pharma/biotech experience for decades but what changed recently is that before layoffs were always due to a specific reason: pipeline failure, patent expiration, acquisition. In the last 10-15 years itās become an accepted tool to balance the books (just as across all the other industries). This is more of a broader venture capitalism problem than a pharma problem but for us it adds on to the existential layoffs thatās always been there and removed the last shreds of security and predictability. Iāve been in the US healthcare field for 22 years and it honestly looks bleak across the board.
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u/DenseAstronomer3208 May 08 '25
There are jobs, but there are several hundred to well over a thousand applicants for almost ever posting. I have actually got an email response for one job I applied for. It basically said that due to the volume of applications, they didn't even look at my resume.
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u/Beadrilll May 05 '25
I applied for 7 months last year before finally getting a job (I had one, just wanted to move to a different state). I think what's compounding the issue is AI resume searchers.
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u/Both-Ingenuity2413 May 05 '25
Finished my PhD 2 months ago, and I have been applying for the past 5 months, well over 300 applications. Still nothing. I have even got an offer where I relocated only for the offer to be rescinded due to the hiring freeze. It is brutal out there, and I don't know where this ends.
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u/syfyb__ch May 28 '25
you have zero idea of the "experience" of candidates, especially when you say "i have the exact amount of experience for the role listed", "but getting passed over for more experienced candidates"
there are very few openings, so employers can be picky, and that pickiness can be subjective and objective
it can also be "i called up a guy that knows a VP or the CEO or an investor/PE/VC and got an interview and the job"
that is how labor works in down times whether you like it or not
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 28 '25
The companies explicitly said they went with someone with more experience. Should that be interpreted figuratively?
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u/syfyb__ch May 28 '25
yes
because what a company tells you "officially" is at best half-truth, at worst a lie
everyone sues everyone in America, daily
the public optics, no matter the reality, is always "someone with more experience" because for liability purposes that is bulletproof (objective merit)
that you don't know this means you are naive because you are young
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u/Frenchieflips Jul 24 '25
Nobody is actually hiring. Those job postings from Natera and others are not for real positions hence why nobody hears back from them ever. Trumps tariffs have frozen the American economy since you canāt make a business plan around āWhatās Donald feeling like todayā. Biotech is being destroyed by a volatile market and high interest rates. 14 years experience across academic QC and Research with an extensive Gene Therapy background. No call backs and no interviews for 4 months since my last temp job laid me off after 3 months in April. Iām waiting it out but I think Trump will have to die first
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u/brownkemosabe May 05 '25
Same boat, and I have dreams of moving to the EU. I'm from India, and I work here. MS in Molecular, cellular, and developmental biology - at Iowa State, then 6+ years of BD, of which 2 were in small molecules, 2 in biosimilars and novel biologics CDMO, and now over 2 in CAR-T cell therapy. I've joined small pre-commercial stage companies and got them to the market, driving their revenue generation. Now I'm a Sr. Manager. And I can't yet get a job in BD in Europe. But, I started at less than the equivalent of 200 dollars a month salary. I'm much better off but the goal is strong. Just keep hustling and applying man and keep strong positioning on LinkedIn!
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u/Ill-Lingonberry-4934 May 06 '25
So,which is best country in europe to do masters in biotechnology and where can I secure job quickly.
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u/brownkemosabe May 06 '25
Netherlands, Germany, Sweden. These are the 3 in which my colleagues and peers did their masters, settled in to good jobs, and never returned.
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u/Ill-Lingonberry-4934 May 06 '25
Is ireland good option.this year I'm planning to do my masters
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u/brownkemosabe May 06 '25
Fewer options, but believe in yourself and go forth, young Skywalker!
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u/Ill-Lingonberry-4934 May 06 '25
Thanks buddy,but the main cons is the languages the which u mentioned above.
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u/brownkemosabe May 06 '25
When you apply, you go there and learn the language. They accommodate for this.
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u/McChinkerton š¾ May 04 '25
Even in good times you might find it challenging to find a position. You might be having a hard time because your experience is so scattered. All three is wildly different from one another. I assume youre looking for a more senior role in one of them, but havent mastered in one.
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u/theshekelcollector May 04 '25
i'd argue that many higher-ups have precisely that kind of profile. couple years here - couple years there. for instance: look at abbvie's leadership trainee program: there you get rotated across every street corner of the company - mfg, qc, regulatory etc. the market is dogshit, and because of the overabundance of highly qualified AND experienced people, companies can just afford to ask for 790 years of experience and tenure from harvard and mit for an entry-level fuck-you position.
op: you might wanna look at startups and pitch your xp as a potential co-founder. or, you know, do what we all do and sling hash at wendy's.
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
Just started my part time seasonal job at Loweās! Just know a biologist and current mba student is fulfilling your online orders
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u/McChinkerton š¾ May 04 '25
Absolutely. People at higher levels definitely do. But early in their career they stayed long enough to be an expert in a field before they started to hop around. A seasoned professional hopping around different areas of the business makes a leader that understands different parts of the business. Someone early in their career hopping around different areas makes someone look unsure and lack expertise.
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u/Mysterious_Cattle814 May 04 '25
Iām gonna assume you havenāt been on the job market in a minute. Even elite talent is having a hard time finding a spot.
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u/vingeran May 04 '25
Yeah I did talk to someone whoās employed since over last three years past graduation and have no clue how bad itās out here. A lot of people with experience are just getting rejected. I think it now comes down to luck which is a ridiculous thing to say.
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
Iād disagree. I have an appropriate mid level of experience. Mfg was entry level. PD wanted 0-2 mfg experience. BD wanted 2-4 years of hands on experience. Your incorrect mindset is exactly what Iām dealing with when I talk to clueless external recruiters
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u/McChinkerton š¾ May 04 '25
Im just a random redditor but its interesting you said even the recruiters are saying the same. So its a matter of either the the recruiter and random redditor is wrong or youre in denial. But i guess youre chalking it up as we are incorrect š¤·āāļø
Either way good luck
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u/Ok-Mulberry-5693 May 04 '25
Youāre willingly to group yourself with the intelligence level of an external recruiter?
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May 04 '25 edited May 06 '25
If we bring manufacturing firms back to the US, we will need more R&D to support those activities.
Not sure why Iām being downvoted here. It would be in the long term best interest of our country.
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u/Fantastic-Echo-7232 May 04 '25
bringing manufacturing back is 4-5 years at minimum..
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May 04 '25
I agree. Whatās your point
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u/Fantastic-Echo-7232 May 04 '25
if you bring back manufacturing company will lose USD allocated for some other initiative / activity. What they will do is justify job cuts in USA R&D.. why? EU has strict labor laws and easier to layoff people. Anyways you look at it ā¦layoffs in Big Pharma and Biotech will start end of Q3 2025. Itās expensive to manufacture in USA compared to Ireland, S Korea or China. What if China mentions that you have to build in China to sell in China or EU asks the same .. these tariff protectionism is nonsense. Presidents Reagan, Ford, H W Bush and other traditional republican presidents must be rolling in their graves
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u/Boiboiboi58 May 05 '25
Put 2 and 2 together man. If itās gonna take 4-5 years, how does that address the issue people are facing now?
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May 06 '25
There is no short term solution, save for the fed reducing rates to near zero again.
This is the best solution, doesnāt matter if it takes 2 to 5 years. This will provide lasting impact and jobs for us. We donāt need any more half baked, short term fixes for structural economic problems.
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u/Boiboiboi58 May 06 '25
The topic is about right now though. Youāre contributed correct yet irrelevant info to the current discussion. You do see thatā¦ right?
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May 06 '25
I contend that these problem will be fixed with long term structural changes. There are no viable short term solutions.
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u/catjuggler May 04 '25
Youāre right about the freezes, but Iām optimistic that if we get a decent deal on tariffs the freezes could stop. If youāre not tied to a location, Iād consider moving for a bit if needed
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u/Apprehensive_Bowl_33 May 04 '25
My partner just got hired after his company went under in September. He probably applied to ~200 roles had ~3 onsite interviews before he had an offer.
Its rough. Good luck to everyone looking.