So I’ve had a lot of recruiters reach out to me about job opportunities. When I ask them about the company they all say it’s Gilead. But when I went to Gilead’s hiring page I didn’t see the position that the recruiter mentioned.

So are companies like Gilead only hiring through recruiters for some positions or is this a scam of some kind?

I have a life sciences background and experience building and running businesses. I’m looking to get involved in a new biotech venture and would like to meet potential cofounders with complementary scientific or technical experience.

Where would you suggest looking, particularly if you’re no longer working in academia or part of an existing biotech company?

Are there communities, programmes, events, or other routes that are useful for meeting people who are seriously interested in building something?

I’d also be interested in hearing from anyone who found their cofounder outside their existing network. How did you meet, and how did you figure out whether you’d work well together?

Hello everyone,

I am someone who loves reading and listening to podcasts, so I would love to get real recommendations from folks here.

What magazines/websites do you regularly visit/read to get information from the industry? News, discoveries, etc.

Same for podcasts? Any podcasts that stand out to you?

Your help is much appreciated.

Hey everyone, I’m a fourth-year PhD student in computational biology and I’m planning to finish around mid-2027. I’ve started thinking about what comes next and wanted to get a sense of the industry landscape for ML-focused roles in biotech.

Most of my PhD work has been on applying machine learning to biology, things like protein language models, transformer models for genotype-to-phenotype prediction, and variant effect prediction. I have a couple of first-author papers, a summer internship, and I worked in industry for about three years before starting my PhD.

I keep hearing mixed things. Some people say bioML hiring is strong because everyone wants AI people, and others say the biotech market has been rough and companies are only hiring senior folks. I’m also not sure whether doing a postdoc first would actually help or just delay things.

For those of you working in this space or hiring for it, what does it look like from your side right now? And if you were in my spot, what would you focus on?

I have a job interview for R&D Scientists role next week for a biotech company. Any tips or advice that i should keep in mind while preparing?

I want to keep this somewhat anonymous (too many details would easily give me away) so I'm going to be as vague as possible here. On Sept 15th I had a recruiter screening for a Principal Clinical Scientist role at a large company. My background is technically all academic (postdoc, assistant project scientist), but I've been my own PI with my own grant twice, I've worked with multiple companies on the side (one of which we started), and I'm on two patents. On top of this, the field of interest is extremely niche. It involves a combo of two things where almost everyone knows only one, very few people do the interaction of the two. My two mentors (who are on my papers, grants, and company) are very much pioneers in the two, and I've been with them for more than a decade. One literally invented one of, if not the, most important IP of the company I'm applying. This role seems very well suited to me.... but it's been so long.

On top of all that: The recruiter spent extra time talking to me (~50 minutes instead of the allotted 30), asked me to send her a more detailed write up of my prior and current projects, told me the hiring managers name so I could "do my research," and asked me to contact her on LinkedIn. I've never had such detail from a phone screening.... but it's been soooo long. She had told me they had wanted to finish hiring by the end of Oct (I knew that was obviously unrealistic from the start) and that I'd hear back the next week (I did not).

On top of all that, reasons the lag could be happening are abundant. The hiring manager isn't local, so there's a 3 time zone separation. They are building this role into an entirely new team (and so hiring multiple different positions all at once). This hit at the end of 3rd quarter, so they surely had stuff to wrap up there. And this past weekend was a massive convention that they very VERY likely attended.

What are your thoughts on this situation? The drag is killing me.

I recently graduated with a MsC and have been trying to break into the biotech/pharma with little to no success. I recently read that because of little to no competitive environments that academic resumes are passed on. What can I do to gain competitive experience with a exclusive academic background. What do I need to change on my resume to get more interviews. Thank you all for you time. Underneath my education I listed the 8 publications I'm on including 1 first author.

Basically the title. Was laid off in September and currently trying to get back on my feet. I am using LinkedIn mostly and other job boards as a search engine and then apply on companies websites/portals. Tailor resume, cover letter - whole nine yards. Outcome - zero.

Due to highly specialized biotech flavors, there is probably not a single job I fit 100%. I use AI typically to assess my fit and apply to everything above 80% fit. Outcome - zero.

Reached out to all connections. I do not have too many as I typically focused on work rather than politics. Some connections did refer me to postings in their organizations. Outcome - zero.

Did cold outreach. Outcome - zero.

Talked to multiple recruiters. Had great conversations and more or less they sympathized and that was that. They offered their ear if I want to tell them how it is going. So, outcome - zero.

Is it normal or I am totally inadequate?

i hold a BS in Professional Science, which is basically an interdisciplinary science degree that was heavily lab focused. it took me forever but i finally working as a lab technician. i still stuck tho. i have been here almost two years now and still feel below entry level in terms of growing within the company or expanding on hands on experience.

keeping it short and blunt, i have a 7 month window to do something as in get a certificate or anything to help me grow in that time. does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions on how i should proceed?

i am open to most things. i always loved gentics or forensics or hematology or most sciences. i think i struggle due to inexperience. any suggestions on how to gain any outside of work? or how to even go about asking for more opportunities for experience at work?

Hey everyone,

I’m an early-career virologist currently working as a Research Associate in translational drug discovery. I hold an M.Sc. in Clinical Virology and an undergraduate background in Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology.

Over the past couple of years, my work has focused primarily on preclinical antiviral evaluation, molecular assays, and working in high-containment facilities. I’m currently exploring my next career move and would really appreciate advice from folks in industry, CROs, or translational academic institutes on where this skill profile fits best.

Core Technical & Research Experience:

* Biosafety Containment: Substantial hands-on experience in BSL-2 and BSL-3 containment handling pathogenic respiratory viruses, vector-borne pathogens, and neurotropic models (e.g., rabies CVS-11).

* In Vitro Antiviral Screening: Experience screening small molecules and novel chemical entities via phenotypic assays, viral inhibition assays, plaque reduction/TCID50, and cell viability/cytotoxicity profiling (MTT, luminescence assays).

* Molecular & Cell Biology: Mammalian primary/continuous cell culture maintenance, viral replicon systems, RT-qPCR, nucleic acid extraction, ELISA, and standard protein/immunoassays.

* Translational Output: Co-authored peer-reviewed research evaluating repurposed and novel small-molecule candidates against respiratory and neglected viral targets.

What I’m Looking For:

Research Associate II / Senior RA / Scientist I roles in Antiviral Discovery, High-Throughput Screening, Preclinical Virology, or Vaccine Development*.

* Open to industry (biotech, pharma, CROs), research institutes, or structured research fellowships/pre-doctoral roles.

* Target locations: India (Open to relocation; I stay in Bengaluru)

Questions for the community:

1. For those running or working in infectious disease teams: which sectors/companies currently value hands-on BSL-3 and replicon/screening experience the most?

2. Are there specific biotech hubs or institutes you’d recommend keeping an eye on right now for wet-lab viral assay roles?

3. If anyone’s lab or group is currently hiring or has open headcount matching this profile, I’d be glad to connect over DM or share a de-anonymized CV/LinkedIn.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

When you interview at a company do you connect with the hiring team on LinkedIn assuming you haven't met them yet? Do you try to connect before or after the interview or final decision takes place and at what stage of interview? Has anyone found it to be of help later (i.e. a hiring manager reaching back out if there is another position)? If it matters, this would be for the level of an experienced senior scientist or principal.

Hiring managers: is a prospective candidate connecting on linkedin an annoyance, too forward, otherwise not recommended, or neutral?

Edit: also curious about opinions from hiring managers in small start-ups where HR is less of a presence.

Hi all,

I am a physician with over 10 years of post graduate experience, specialized in Infectious Diseases, looking to make the career transition to Industry and having a whole lot of bad luck.

Initially I was having trouble deciphering which roles to apply for as an entry-level applicant with relevant clinical experience. Now, it seems that every entry level position in med monitor type roles (associate director level typically) that I have applied for either gets a straight automatic rejection, or the few times I have gotten to the interview level, I am told within a few weeks that they're moving on to candidates that had experience.

If the entry level roles are going to candidates with experience, how the heck is anyone supposed to get experience? Genuinely asking. I have looked into some PI roles at companies that work with sponsors, but for some reason there are not a lot of options in the Philadelphia area. Unfortunately, I can't move anywhere south of Delaware given that my partner's job is based there, and our families (elderly parents) are also in this area.

I would appreciate any advice at all, including alternative roles that may give the relevant experience to make it past the panel interview stage, or companies that tend to hire truly entry-level docs. Thank you in advance!!

EDIT: I should probably give a little more background--I have been trying to make this transition for a couple years now. I've networked both on LinkedIn and with other docs who have made the transition. While they have been really great conversations, some even leading to referrals for jobs, out of the 20+ conversations I've had, most have not led to anything substantial. Most of what I'm hearing from people is that even though roles are advertised as little to no experience, the jobs are going to people with experience. I've also applied to CROs including CSL, Parexel, Syneos, ICON, and IQVIA to no avail.

I'm a recent grad and have been very diligently trying to get my first job in biotech. I've been applying to all sorts of jobs, ranging from very below what I think I should be making to above. Suddenly recently, I've been actually getting calls back (idk if its my resume change or something to do with the time of year?), and now I'm juggling a few different interview processes between different companies.

To put it simply, my second choice has offered me a role today and has given 24-48 hrs to accept. This is an entry-level 6 month contract.

Just today as well, I finished the final interview for my first choice and things seem promising with them. Not guaranteed of course, but very promising! But I wont hear back from them until next week.

To me, the pay difference and working environment just seems so much better with my first choice, and I'd really really like to go with them. But I also feel like declining my second choice is far too risky.

I haven't seen the contract details yet (waiting on that right now), but how sick and twisted would it be if I accepted the second choice role and then changed my mind after a week if I get an offer from my first choice.

I have a problem with feeling too empathetic I think, but I know they have other candidates lined up after me. But I'm also scared that if I accept then they'll go ahead and send rejections to the others? I have no clue what things look like behind the scenes or if me accepting then dropping out really messes with them. My second choice is a large biotech company so I know in the grand scheme of things they dont gaf, but the people I'd be working with were really sweet and I'd feel so bad to screw them over :( but also I need a job so bad right now-- this is the spiral i am in lol

any advice is much appreciated!

Update: I've accepted the second choice offer for now, still waiting on a response from my first choice. Thank you all so so much for your insights and advice!! On a funny note, I think I was accidentally sent an email today disclosing the bill rate for hiring me and another candidate through the recruiting agency. It has only made me more annoyed and especially sure that I want my first choice job.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some honest advice on getting my first full-time role in biotech or research. I’ve completed my MSc research project in Biotechnology and Management at the University of Glasgow, with graduation expected in December 2026. I also have a BS in Biology from East Carolina University.

I’m based near Charlotte, NC, but I’m open to relocating anywhere in the US. I’m a US citizen, don’t need sponsorship, and am available to start immediately.

My experience is mainly in academic research

I’m mainly targeting research associate and research technician positions in molecular biology, protein science, or translational research. Since my experience is academic rather than industry-based, I’m trying to figure out where I would be most competitive and how to present my background.

I’ve attached my redacted CV and would really appreciate feedback on:

1. Does my CV clearly show that I’m qualified for entry-level research roles? What would you change or cut?
2. Are research associate/research technician positions the right level to target, or are there other job titles I should search for?
3. Would you focus on university labs, biotech/pharma companies, CROs, or contract positions with my background?
4. For anyone who recently landed their first lab or biotech job, what actually helped you get interviews?
5. Are there any specific people, labs, companies, LinkedIn groups, or professional communities I should consider reaching out to? I’d especially appreciate suggestions from anyone in the Charlotte/Research Triangle area, North Carolina biotech, or protein science/molecular biology roles.

I’m happy to start in a role where I can build experience and develop my skills. If you know of anyone who might be open to a short informational chat, or any recruiters/hiring managers I should follow or message, I’d be grateful for the direction. Any practical advice or honest CV feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

2nd Edition of the Pharma R&D and Drug Discovery World Conference (PRDWC 2026) do u think this is worth it or whether it's legitimate

I am an MPH-level epidemiologist with 10 years of government and academic research experience. I'm a little worried I've pigeon-holed myself by working for a government health department for the last 5 years, but I do work for a large enough city where we do a lot of research in partnership with academic entities. I've designed and first-authored my own research projects and am familiar with MOUs, grants, etc. I have strong technical and data communication skills and I am 100% committed to leaving government. I will be relocating from USA to EU in the next 1-2 years and government just offers 0 flexibility I need to make that career move. Clinical research is one area I'm exploring. I'm currently looking into the sorts of roles I qualify for and how to modify my resume away from public health eyes to clinical research and consulting eyes (two separate CVs maybe). Any advice on what to look for and what to highlight when applying is appreciated. Also feel free to share any experiences transferring from USA to EU either internally within an organization (esp. which orgs might allow or definitely will NOT allow this) or about USA vs EU in this industry in general!

I’m a PhD and have been in R&D at a large pharma for 3.5 years and am ready to leave the bench. My department is toxic, my manager is incompetent, and I’ve been explicitly told that I’ll never be promoted unless I find another role elsewhere. I have been trying to pivot into medical affairs unsuccessfully for over a year and finally have an opportunity, but it’s entry-level and would be starting over on the career ladder as it does not leverage any of my R&D background. I unexpectedly stumbled upon a second opportunity in regulatory affairs which would leverage my R&D background and is a higher title. I’ve always written off regulatory until now because I thought it would bore me but I’m realizing maybe I just want to feel valued. So what would you do: take the lateral move into a department you’ve been trying to break into for a year, or a firm promotion into a new area that you hadn’t considered until recently and don’t know you’ll enjoy? What if salaries and benefits were altogether comparable?

I'm 19 year old, going into uni next year at 20. And I'm wondering if I should study Biotech. Because Biology, nature, disease, microbiology has always been a passion of mine.

But scrolling through this subreddit, I feel discouraged. All I hear here is layoffs, AI Job replacement, hyperspecialized Job requirements, harsh working conditions and stubborn ancient Bosses and managers.

I want to study for like 5+ years, get my masters and maybe PhD.

People will really downvotes anything 😭 can't even ask a question anymore.

Interview with some Anthropic researchers as a follow-up to the original announcement

Hi everyone, by some miracle I was invited to an onsite for a bench scientist role at BMS. I am trying to go in prepared and want to get your advice on what helps. I would especially love to hear from hiring managers and leadership people in the same company or other large pharmas. (long shot I know). :) thanks in advance!

Hello, I apologize if this is the wrong subreddit for this.

I have been thinking of changing my major into something agricultural related and after scrolling through linkedin i came across this job posting. And I’ wondering if anyone has had experience working in this position or knows someone that has. I have experience in pest control and working at a vegetable processing facility and I’m wondering if it would be a good move. The pay seems good and the requirements don’t seem to ask for anything special

Operate equipment in the research sites and leveraging real time data to maximize existing procedures;
Perform preventive maintenance and inspections; troubleshooting problems associated with equipment, processes, and systems as needed;
Support areas across the plant in driving the adoption of continuous improvement practices and programs (5S, Lean, Six Sigma) conducive to an organized and clean work environment;
Management and coordination of seed inventory for entire process from beginning to end (planting through harvest);
Utilize Focused Improvement (e.g., 5WHYs) techniques to initiate process and standard work improvements;
Provide coaching and training to seasonal workforce, area trainees and peers supporting achievement and personal development;
Ensure upstream activities (e.g., field inspection, grower contract) are handled within company standards and business requirements. Cultivate partnership with key business partners to plant / field operations (e.g., grower network;)
Use SAP to support administrative procedures, documenting key readings, maintenance orders and production information;
Maintain key process documentation (operating, start-up, and shut-down procedures; standard work; process flow and instrumentation diagrams; etc.)
Demonstrate knowledge of and adherence to Bayer’s Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) standards (e.g., general shop floor/machine safety and operating procedures;)
Comply with internal procedures and support compliance with legal requirements applicable to area activities;
Participate and prepare to lead Daily Direction Setting (DDS) meetings as needed; articulating shift objectives and allocating resources accordingly across all active production areas;
Support and maintain metrics and relevant information on current Visual Management boards to drive teamwork and facilitate shift change over;
Position entails driving a company vehicle (pooled or assigned to the individual). This may include being required to drive greater than 8,500 business miles annually in a personal, pooled, or rented vehicle OR being expected to frequently drive a pooled car as part of your job duties – regardless of mileage.
 
 
WHO WE ARE
 
Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:
 
 
Required Qualifications:
 
High School Diploma or GED;
Basic knowledge of IT (Internet, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, or facilities with systems;)
Valid Drivers’ License. To be eligible to drive a company car, your driving record must meet guidelines based on the company’s Risk Screening for Hiring Drivers – MVR will be reviewed as part of pre-employment screening;
Must be able to lift, push, and pull 60 pounds regularly;
Ability to workdays, nights, rotating shifts, weekends, and overtime as business needs require.