Entering Industry: Information for Postgraduates

There are many opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry if you have done a Masters degree or a Doctorate (PhD).

What is it like working in the pharmaceutical industry?

Research and development roles within pharmaceutical companies or contract research organisations usually involve becoming a member of a multi-disciplinary project team. You would be expected to apply modern scientific methods (using state of the art equipment within a well resourced laboratory environment) to the research and development of novel compounds. The research carried out in the laboratory has the potential to become life-saving medicines which will make a real impact on patients’ lives.

It’s not just in academia that scientific thinking is advanced - research scientists in industry are expected to report progress internally within the project team as well as contributing externally through publications in the peer reviewed literature. Industry will provide further support and continuous professional training opportunities to help achieve career objectives.

If you enter industry with a PhD, there will be opportunities for you to develop and supervise other staff and to collaborate with colleagues from other disciplines to influence overarching project strategies. Your career could develop in one of any number of directions depending on your interests and expertise.

Which of the skills gained during my time as a PhD student are employers interested in?

The following information has been taken from the study Employers’ views of researchers’ skills (the full text can be accessed from the external link on the right hand side of this page):

1. There was a general assumption that completion of a PhD indicated possession of initiative, intellectual ability and the capacity to work autonomously

2. When PhD candidates held industrial experience, they were considered to be highly commercially aware and showed great capacity to learn

3. Employers who listed skill possessed by PhD candidates were positive and talked about high calibre employees. Maturity and enthusiasm were mentioned frequently, as was technical proficiency, specialist knowledge and problem solving skills.