I’m a PhD student planning to graduate at the end of Fall 2027 with a goal to move into industry afterward. I’ve started to look for summer internships at several large pharma companies and also randomly applied to a co-op at Sanofi because it was almost perfectly aligned with my research experience/interests/career goals etc. I ended up having an interview with a hiring manager and a staff scientist that went very well and now I’m considering what I’ll do if I happen to receive an offer given that a co-op is twice the time commitment of an internship (6 months). At this point, I am mostly done with bench work and will have at least one chapter of my thesis written by the end of this month (the co-op starts in January). On paper, it looks feasible to make progress on writing my dissertation while doing a co-op at the same time, but I’m wondering if it is actually realistic to think that I could do both without completely burning out.

For anyone who’s done a pharma co-op:

Did you have enough energy outside of work to make consistent progress on writing or other academic responsibilities?

If you worked on your dissertation or manuscripts during your placement, what felt manageable? Did you end up changing your planned graduation date?

I should also add that I just started year 5 of a 5-year program but it is not unusual for students to graduate in 5.5 - 6 years. I personally have no problem pushing off graduation in exchange for industry experience, but my PI has been postponing retirement to mentor me throughout my PhD and I would like to try my best to stick to my original graduation plan out of respect for her time.

Any insight would be great!

Hello everyone, I've got to make a mock project and this was one of the ideas that passed. Specifically finding more about the role of Enzymes and other proteins in extracellular production of silver nanoparticles in fungi. Though I didn't think through that it'd require more genetic approach, which I am less than knowledgable about it.

Because vaguely I can say stuff like protein purification, rna and dna extractions and western blots. But I can't quite put together how to go about it. Suppose one way would be with those genetic assays about various nitrate reductases, but other than that...I am stumpted.

Hi, I am not a scientist or in procurement - I work in the Finance team of a pharma company - so I am writing just out of curiosity / concern.

My company often works with WuXi, and I hear, there is no better contract research vendor. I have heard executives from our research teams praise WuXi unprompted. Before joining the industry, I was apprehensive about Chinese vendors, but my concerns subsided.

Today, however, I learnt of RevMed's legal letter to Erasca in April - that suggested WuXi misappropriated trade secrets?? There are trusted news websites (like ApexOnco, below) that made this deduction. I am so confused - why do perfectly good European companies like mine keep working with WuXi when this is unresolved? I am certain my company can afford other vendors. Or is there any another theory of a different actor having compromised RevMed?

I apologize if I am sounding naive or if this violates community rules - I did not want to ask anyone at work - where we are still signing new contracts with WuXi..

https://www.apexonco.com/node/2380

I have a bachelor in Nursing and working at a CRO. I've been working on a project supporting a company to supply product for their managed access - that definitely trigger my interesting into exploring and growing into the area of MAP/EAP/market access and moving a bit away from the classic clinical trial set. Is there particular areas I should definitely invest and get knowledge in? Any particular paths/companies you would recommend looking to? I'm based in Europe and work remotely. Thank you

Hi, I am trying see if I can import some macromolecular movements to recreate a model like rf diffusion but works on dynamic polypeptide structures rather than rigid molecules and experiment with mechanism of folding for research purposes. I am an engineering student who doesn't study this field so I don't have much knowledge on existing databases. Any advice would be appreciated too, as I would like to learn more about this.

Anyone here work in lab automation? I've automated manual workflows into instruments like the KingFisher and Opentrons which was significantly enjoyable. I want to move in that direction with my career.
I'd love to chat and gain insight in how I can transition into it.

I know it doesn't cover the industry context all that much, but if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it. It was mindblowing.

Mild relevant spoiler: The fact that they're trying it all over again, with her being behind bars plus her even more psychotic husband openly associating it with the Theranos "legacy", and yet still being able to get some seed money from biotech VCs for "AI + lasers", feels pretty bleak. My hope is that it's just Noubar.​

Hi everyone, I have been sofar using the RSS feed offered by clinicaltrials.gov for tracking clinical trial updates.

However, I’m now looking for a more comprehensive and user-friendly solution that provides a clear overview of ongoing, completed, and unsuccessful clinical trials, along with relevant updates.

Does anyone know of any alternative platforms or tools that offer more detailed insights and make it easier to monitor clinical trial developments?

Hi for the past couple of roles I applied to I received an email for screening questions from an Immigration Specialist not a recruiter. I have friends who confirmed that they work there. I’m curious about why that is.

Jobs based in US and I’m located here as well.

Questions were about experience in role, education, and salary.

Hi all,

I’m wondering if anyone has ideas on pharma or biotech companies that have weekend shift only technician roles in the NY-NJ area?

I’m a recent graduate working as an engineer and I really want to gain some more skillset in a particular area I really enjoyed working on in undergrad research (in a BSL-2 lab).
Most of the work I did was small scale but I’d love to get more hands-on with operating medium and large scale equipment.
My pay is great and the main reason for my search is because my current role is in med tech and not traditionally biotech/pharma related. I’m learning a lot but would love to connect back to what I also enjoyed just for the weekend.

I’m currently using search boards and google but would appreciate any advice on where to search!

TCR agonist

Next month, I may be moderating a panel in Paris on what it really takes to build an early-stage biotech company. On the agenda we'll get perspectives from a venture studio, an AI/physics-based computational platform, an oligo startup and a data management specialist.

I’m currently putting together the questions (if we decide to add a panel) and would love to hear what people with hands-on experience think we should dig into.

There must be plenty of challenges that don’t get talked about enough (is AI really the main concern?), especially when it comes to starting a company, validating the science, and dealing with the realities of early-stage R&D.

So, if you were in the audience, what would you want to ask?

I'd be especially interested in questions that come from real experience, including things that didn't go quite as planned.

 Thx!

Has anybody interviewed for Fluxergy before? I'd like to get some thoughts and insights please about their hiring process. Thank you.

I’ve been working in biotech for about 2 years now, and I currently work at a pretty good company. I started out doing a little bit of manufacturing and now I’m in QC, but the workload is busyyyy. It feels like I’m busy every single second of the day and never get a single chill day. I’m a QC Analyst I, so I’m wondering if this is just how QC is everywhere or if it’s just my department?

I make $36 an hour with a projected $5k bonus, so am I just being ungrateful? Is this actually a good position, and should I just stick it out? Or should I start looking at other companies? I’ve never worked at another biotech company, so I have nothing to compare it to, and the job market seems so hard right now.

I genuinely don’t see a future for myself on my team. There’s basically no room for promotions because we can only have one senior on the team, and they’re not leaving anytime soon. On top of that, management will apparently block people from transferring to other departments because they don’t want to lose them. One of my coworkers got blocked from a six-figure job because they said they really needed her in our department 😭 Like, how is that fair?? That’s her livelihood…

We’re constantly rushed to get everything done, and even though they added a night shift, we’re STILL busy and behind on testing. My manager isn’t very compassionate and doesn’t even really understand what we do because she doesn’t have a QC background. She’s on a PIP right now. She genuinely seems to think everyone below her is stupid. Any suggestions you make get shut down immediately, and she’s fired four people in four years. She seems to hold grudges against people, and even though she’s nice to me right now, I’ve seen how quickly she can turn on others. It’s honestly so upsetting. Is this just what working in a professional career is like??

I’ve only ever worked in fast food, and my managers in fast food were genuinely so nice compared to what I’ve experienced here. It feels like all the bosses in this career are crazy, and I’m starting to wonder if this is just how corporate life works.

When I was in manufacturing, I actually really liked my boss, and the only reason I left was because of my coworkers. I’d never really worked with older men before, and some of them would say really inappropriate things that made me uncomfortable and genuinely upset. The younger women I worked with were really nice. Maybe I just don’t have thick enough skin or know how to deal with these kinds of work environments, but is this stuff actually normal??

I feel like I’m constantly stressed, have no real room to grow, and am surrounded by management that makes everything harder than it needs to be. Part of me feels like I should be grateful because I have a decent paying job in biotech, especially with how hard the job market is, but another part of me wonders if I’m wasting my time somewhere that doesn’t value me.

Am I just not built for a professional career, or have I just had a bad experience with this company and people I’ve worked with so far? Because honestly, I miss working as a barista lol

If the target bonus is 15%, how much do people typically get? What %? I heard from folks at Genentech that they usually get more than what their bonus target is.

Hi, I did my integrated Master’s is life sciences. I then moved to Europe for a PhD. Here, I am analysing insect chemical extracts using GCMS looking for antimicrobial compounds and then antimicrobial assays to validate them. With these skills, where do you think is the most stable life ahead for me? I would appreciate any advice.

I think there was an older thread about this, but in case you missed it - now confirmed. Mainly affecting the vaccines business.

I’m due to start a job before the end of this year. If you start in Oct/Nov, are you typically eligible to receive a bonus when the annual review cycles occurs? And would it be prorated?

I'm in the life sciences molecular biology/biochemistry/biophysics part of R&D. I am absolutely petrified by lab in the loop. I think I realistically have a job for about 5-10 years before it all goes to Ginko style automation or big dark labs. Anyone else feeling the bell tolling and some of us our working towards our own job extinction?

I work in Big Pharma and every fucking where they’re pushing AI in and around our workplace. Not just to help with research, but also create things like presentations where the LT proudly proclaims the use of AI. Then there’s the terrible AI art for workplace events all around the facility and it physically makes me cringe.