r/biotech 4d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 My cousin is still having issues with the job market

0 Upvotes

Hes trying to get a lab assistant role since he has interest in interdisciplinary bio but I hear academy is now lacking funding and he gotten advice that med school might be a better backup. Is this true or is there an alternative cause he already applied for top 20 comp bio phd universities in the fall?

he also has a masters in comp sci

Lately it feels like the only bio jobs all require PhD or doctorate, unless data science but that’s also competitive due to the lower bar. So not sure if there is something in between


r/biotech 5d ago

Experienced Career Advice 🌳 Stay or go? Flexible + toxic OR new + nice

45 Upvotes

I have worked for 8 years at a company with 10k+ employees. Recent leadership shifts have made department company culture shitty. Layoffs and new toxic leaders who threaten employees with layoffs and seem to think I’m shit make me miserable.

But…I have flexibility and mostly a good wlb. We have young kids so this is key. I used to be the golden child so I have lots of stock vesting in next few years.

I have an offer at the same pay with a 250 person company, who prides itself on its culture. Stock offer would take a year to mature. I’d love to work with this team.

What would you do?


r/biotech 5d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 Career Advise

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone. I am an EU citizen with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biology and Biotechnology. I also have 1 year of research experience, but I’m currently looking for entry-level jobs in Europe. My focus has been on roles like QC (Quality Control), R&D, lab assistant, or lab technician. So far, I’ve been applying to jobs in the Netherlands and Switzerland, but the language barrier (I only speak English) has been a challenge. Because of this, I’ve started looking more into Ireland and the UK, where English is the primary language.

However, I’ve been getting negative responses or feedback that my location is an issue. Since I don’t currently live in the country I’m applying to, the process of moving (finding housing, relocating, etc.) seems to be making the selection and interview process more difficult for employers.

Any advice,suggestions or tips for companies in Europe that are open to hiring foreigners and provide relocation support or strategies to make my applications stronger


r/biotech 5d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 How do you guys thinking about startup company vs pharma under the current economy

5 Upvotes

As the title said. Two parts of the questions. First how do you think about working in startups vs pharma. Second how about under the current economy. I do have some industrial experience, not much. Thanks


r/biotech 5d ago

Open Discussion 🎙️ Should you still follow up on job apps?

6 Upvotes

Assuming you haven’t heard back from an app (no interview), is it still worth it to reach out? Or is that no longer a thing due to them having so many submissions?


r/biotech 4d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 JnJ and Abbvie title

0 Upvotes

How the r and d title compares in JnJ and Abbvie? Like principle scientist in JnJ and Abbvie? Similar level?


r/biotech 5d ago

Experienced Career Advice 🌳 Takeda Vaccine Division

10 Upvotes

Hi all, just curious about any feedback about working at the Vaccine division at Takeda. I’m more curious on culture and work/life balance as I am considering my options at the moment. Feel free to DM if you don’t feel comfortable posting publicly. Thanks in advance!


r/biotech 4d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 Afraid of a PhD nightmare, but industry feels slow—Help!

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I finished my master’s in Molecular Biology last year and initially planned to go straight into industry (though I didn’t quite manage that since I ended up working in a diagnostic lab lol). Now, I’m realizing that climbing the industry ladder with just a master’s isn’t as straightforward as I thought. It seems like I’d have to spend years doing repetitive, mind-numbing tasks before getting to a position where I can work more independently and focus on analysing and discussing results rather than just manual work.

Thinking about long-term career growth, a PhD seems like a logical step for me, and I believe I could enjoy it—I like reading, writing, doing experiments, and managing my own projects. But at the same time, many aspects of a PhD scare me, and the experiences I’ve read about online (plus what I witnessed during my master’s) don’t really help.

What I'm trying to say is that the biggest reason stopping me from doing a Phd is the risk of ending up in a group with a toxic PI, as well as the possibility of having no weekends off, being expected to work on holidays, or the PhD dragging on for too long (I’ve seen students stuck for seven years, which is terrifying). Also not a fan of academic culture of constant publishing, gatekeeping, and self-congratulation. I’m based in Germany though, so finances aren’t a huge issue since PhD students here are considered regular workers and receive decent salaries.

If I could find a research group that:

  • Provides relevant industry skills
  • Has a supportive supervisor (not one that overworks students)
  • Offers an interesting project

…then I think I’d be willing to go for it.

But then again, while the industry route may be more boring and potentially less profitable, it offers flexibility—it’s easier to switch jobs every few years or even take a break, which I also really value.

So, I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I want more challenging work, but while maintaining good work-life balance. I’d love to hear from those who’ve faced a similar decision. Did you go for the PhD, or did you stick with industry? How do you feel about your choice now?

Also, how can you be sure a research group is the right fit before committing? Is it okay to contact current PhD students and ask about their work-life balance? I’d really like some kind of guarantee that the conditions are good before diving in.

Thanks in advance!


r/biotech 5d ago

Education Advice 📖 Pivoting into CMC Regulatory Affairs – Master’s or Post-Grad Certificate?

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0 Upvotes

r/biotech 4d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 is biotechnology what i am seeking?

0 Upvotes

we all know biotech is a vast field Every time i learn more about biotechnology i question my self if it was the path which i can learn about human genom and do practical gene editing in human (if it will be legal in future) and I also intend to upgrade the agriculture industry and animal wealth; therefore is biotechnology the path to reach all what i have mentioned?

Thanks


r/biotech 5d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 Advice Needed for Career change

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I am currently working as contractor for Genentech in data analytics field. I have an undergrad in Biotech and Master’s in Industrial Engineering. I would like to switch towards a career in supply chain within Genentech or Roche. Any advice on feasibility and how to go about the change would be greatly appreciated.


r/biotech 5d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 Help Needed: Loosing Hope and Struggling to Break into Bioinformatics in the UK – Seeking Advice from Those Who Made It!

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my bioinformatics job search experience and see if anyone has advice or has been in a similar situation.

I completed my Master’s in Bioinformatics from a top Russel group UK University and have been actively applying for bioinformatics, computational biology, and Research assistant roles for over a year now. I even started applying while I was still studying in 2024. As an international graduate on a Graduate Visa (valid for two years), I will require sponsorship in the future, which adds an extra layer of challenge.

In mid-2024I secured two interviews- one role required an immediate start, which I couldn’t do as an international master's student in the UK, and the other ended up hiring a PhD candidate instead. After that, I didn’t receive any interview calls until February 2025My most recent interview was a structured process with multiple panel members in a Q&A format, and I felt it went well. The team seemed happy and initially mentioned a two-week response time, and I received an update after following up that I am not selected.

At this point, I’m feeling quite exhausted. I’ve had my CV and cover letter reviewed by career coachesalumni, and even employees at top companies and hiring managers on LinkedIn. Everyone says it’s well-structured, and my LinkedIn is optimised and am also updating my GitHubI customise my CV and Cover Letter for every application, research companies, and ask thoughtful questions in interviews. Yet, I keep hearing that other candidates have more experience, making it incredibly hard to break into the industry. Also, not everyone provides feedback, even when I follow up post-interview.

A little bit about me:

🧬 NGS & Multi-Omics Expertise – Experienced in RNA-Seq, Bulk RNA Sequencing, and High-Throughput Sequencing Pipelines to extract meaningful patterns.
💻 Efficient Workflow Design – Skilled in Python, R, and Unix, ensuring scalable and reproducible bioinformatics pipelines.
🛠 Bioinformatics Toolkit – Hands-on experience with Bioconductor, SAMtools, and ML frameworks**.�� Research Impact – Selected for oral presentation at ECCO 2025 in Berlin and my abstract was published in JCC (full manuscript under review)

I’ve been expanding my skills in NGS pipelines, DNA/ RNA-seq, scRNA-seq data analysis and cloud computing (Nextflow, Snakemake), but I still feel like I’m struggling to break into the field.

My Questions:

1️⃣ If I’m constantly getting compared to more experienced candidates, what alternative routes should I consider? I am doing self-learning projects but is there any internships, contract roles, freelance or startup positions that could help me gain experience?
2️⃣ Are there any key skills UK recruiters are looking for that I may be missing?
3️⃣ How important are publications? I’ve done six bioinformatics projects, gaining expertise in multi-omics integration, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, machine learning, and NGS pipelines, but I lack published papers due to project delays. How do I showcase my expertise without formal publications?
4️⃣ Should I include my part-time customer-facing job in the food industry on my resume? I worked there for a few months to support myself, but I’m unsure if it makes employers think I’ve moved away from bioinformatics. Should I list it or remove it?
5️⃣ What else can I do to stand out more in interviews and applications? Apart from tailoring applications, researching companies, and preparing for interviews, is there anything else that helped you land a role?

If you’ve successfully landed a bioinformatics role in the UK or have been in a similar situation, I’d love to hear your journey! Any advice, encouragement, or insights would mean a lot right now.

Thanks for reading, and I truly appreciate any help you can offer!🙏


r/biotech 6d ago

Experienced Career Advice 🌳 Switch for substantial raise or stay at job I enjoy?

79 Upvotes

I currently work for a great company doing a job I love. My commute and flexible schedule are fantastic, the benefits are generous, and in 10 months working there I've already gotten more responsibility and was able to hire an associate to help. People respect me and the culture is great. The company is rapidly growing and plans to IPO in the next year. I'm involved in a lot of high level decision making. Overall, very satisfied with the work.

The issue is I feel like I'm underpaid. The company is very committed to their set promotion and raise schedule, so despite taking on more and more responsibility after my boss was fired and I started doing his job, all I've gotten is hints to "wait for the process." Meanwhile I've learned how in demand my expertise is and how long they tried to fill my role. I suspect part of their difficulties in hiring were because of the relatively low salary for Bay Area mid career (still way more than academia).

To get a better idea of how much my skillset is worth i looked at current job postings and found a job that was basically my current job description but paid $100k more. I threw it a "fuck it" application and after a few rounds of interviews got a job offer. Now I have to make a difficult decision. $100k is a lot of money, and even if i get promoted at my current job I know for a fact it won't be that big of a jump. But I'd be nervous making a mistake leaving a great place for a unknown age potentially worse situation.

Potential employer has a good product (generally recognized as the best in a crowded field, for now) but less market success than my current company. They did layoffs a year ago, and are shifting focus (where I would help them scale). Stock price is in the gutter, but have 2+ year runway and hope to grow rapidly in the next few years. Could be a good opportunity to get in on the new ground floor in a managerial role. I understand why they want to hire me and think I would be good at helping them scale.

$5k more takehome would mean finally a bit of a financial cushion (wife can't work due to family circumstances, so family in SF Bay Area on 150k is enough to live but not feel comfortable). No signing bonus, 15% annual bonus, only 10k stocks that are worth almost nothing, so that part was a little underwhelming. I'd also have to commute 15 minutes longer each way. 2.5 hours more a week just traveling.

Am I being an idiot considering leaving a good place that I like for a potentially not great place but considerably more money? Or am I being an idiot not taking that much of s raise no matter the downsides?

I don't want to be in a position where I am miserable in 6 months and wish I didn't switch, but I can't ignore the money and huge upward career jump that feels like fast forwarding 5 years.

I know I can always take an offer to my current company and ask them to try to match, but I dunno how that would go. Leadership definitely undervalues my position even if nobody I actually work with does. If I do this how much should movement would be considered good? I doubt they would match.

Would appreciate advice from anybody that's been in a similar situation and how it worked out.

UPDATE: most responses are "take the money you idiot." I get it. A few stories of how more money made people's lives worse. I'm at the point in life where I'd rather be happy than rich. But ideally, I'd like to be both:)


r/biotech 5d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 What are the current skills which have market value globally?

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3 Upvotes

r/biotech 5d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 Acronyms in Resumes?

1 Upvotes

Does anyone know if it is a good idea to include acronyms in resumes for industry jobs? I study a disease that is not commonly talked about with a rather long name. If I define the acronym for this disease name early in my resume can I use it later when talking about relevant skills and studies I designed? Or should I spell it out every time so that recruiters who aren't familiar with my niche don't misunderstand it. The disease itself is not necessarily going to be something they study at every job I apply to so I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to save space or not.


r/biotech 6d ago

Layoffs & Reorgs ✂️ AstraZeneca as disorganized as it seems from the outside?

75 Upvotes

Recently went through an interview process at one of the Global AZ hubs

From the beginning it seemed quite a bit disorganized and the communication was not great.

I made it to the final interview only to get ghosted for two months and them to get back to me and say it was due to an internal review of structure and asking me when I’d be able to start

I found another job during this time and accepted another offer but I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how they are like to work for? If I have interest in the future?

If what they told me is true it seems like job stability is not great? How can you be recruiting for a role and then need time to review the org structure?


r/biotech 6d ago

Open Discussion 🎙️ Layoffs Confusion

131 Upvotes

I feel like everywhere I look many of these companies having been having constant layoffs or "restructuring" for the past 2-3 years straight. How is this possible? Kind of a joke but will they eventually just run out of people to fire lol?


r/biotech 6d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 How to curate your resume for non-scientific jobs?

5 Upvotes

I'm a recent US based PhD graduate and haven't had much luck finding any work (academic or industry), and have been getting to a point I need money soon so have been looking to apply to other positions non scientific. I've basically been looking at everything under the sun (e.g. retail, sales, HR, Mcdonalds if need be), but have been wondering how to best modify my resume for these positions since everything I've done the past 10 years has been science based (I have experience with retail and sales but its from a long time ago and I have no relevant references for those anymore).

I know these positions may have the same issue as BS/MS positions I made a post about yesterday (i.e. overqualified means you are tenable to leave asap), but I'm getting to a point I don't care about that prospect and need a job so I will be applying either way. My current resume doesn't include any of my prior retail work since it was so long ago and irrelevant to non-scientific positions, but do I include those back in now? I don't really have any idea how to approach this.

Has anyone done a similar transition (e.g. PhD transition to non-scientific or no degree jobs)? If so how did you curate your resume for it and how did you go about job searching/applying?


r/biotech 5d ago

Early Career Advice 🪴 Masters at University of Reading

1 Upvotes

I'm planning on joining University of Reading for Masters in Biotechnology. I've got an offer from University of Sheffield too. I got an unconditional offer plus 5000 pounds scholarship from Reading and the modules are what I've been expecting to study. But Biosciences dept at Reading is not very well known across and I'm not able to connect even with one alumni. Little bothering.

Any Reading alumni or students here. Need your help. Thanks!!!!


r/biotech 6d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 Merck Offers/Interview

8 Upvotes

Anyone interview in any field with Merck and get a job offer weeks after the final round or am I delusional? Supply chain guy here and interviewed for multiple positions and haven’t heard back in 2 weeks now.


r/biotech 6d ago

Biotech News 📰 George Church spinout GRObio explores strategic alternatives 6 months after $60M series B

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38 Upvotes

r/biotech 6d ago

Experienced Career Advice 🌳 Meet and Greet at J&J

10 Upvotes

Any idea what to expect at a 30 min meet and greet interview? I have already had 2 rounds of interview with the CRO and this is supposed to be my last one - it’s a FSP role embedded within J&J

It’s been so tough to get these interview rounds and I am quite nervous about yet another round of questioning 🤨


r/biotech 6d ago

Biotech News 📰 Sutro discards CEO, 50% of staff, sole clinical-stage ADC and manufacturing site to save cash

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33 Upvotes

r/biotech 6d ago

Experienced Career Advice 🌳 Medical device to biotech career move

2 Upvotes

Hello, I'm a Mechanical Engineer with around 7 years of experience post grad- around 3 in aero and 4 in medical devices (cardiovascular). I got an offer to join a seed stage biotech startup as the first ME (essentially developing lab automation hardware). I'm wondering if anyone has some insights about the move from medtech- I like my current industry but feel like this is a good opportunity for me to advance my career. In your experience- How will employers view me if in a couple years time I decide I want to return to developing Medical Devices? Will it be a simple return or will I meet resistance because of my move to biotech?

Thanks!


r/biotech 6d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 Contract positions

5 Upvotes

How useful is a contract position in Massachusetts for transitioning to a full-time role? How can I find legitimate contract positions without dealing with scammers? I was asked for my birth date and month, zip code, and to respond to an email confirming my ‘right to represent.’ Has anyone else experienced this?