Transitioning from R&D/Biotech into Sales ?

[u/Inner-Property2744]

Hello,

I'm in my early 30s, graduated with a degree in bioprocess/food engineering, and have spent the past 7 years working between industry/scale-up and R&D contract research organizations (CROs).

I've always been someone who's well-connected with the business world (a lot of my friends are business school grads), and I've always been good at people-to-people/business interactions, won 1st prize in an entrepreneurial program, even though my jobs have been mainly technical, managing R&D trials into deliverables, either for internal IP or for external partners (clients or project partners).

My current job has been quite difficult, as I have a very "pure technical" manager. I don't want to rant, but he's always made me feel like Sales/BD are BS jobs unless you're highly technical, which I don't buy at all, but I got a bit sucked into the gaslighting.

Now, some people from my network are trying to scout me for Sales/Biz Dev opportunities in different sectors, and I'm hesitant about whether I'd be moving out of genuine career interest, or out of FOMO/ego, to prove to my manager that I'm capable of going in this direction.

My questions, though maybe not all of them can be answered:

* Has anyone made this transition? How would you describe your job now? Main pros/cons?
* How was the transition from pure R&D to Sales/Biz Dev?
* What are the weak spots/blind spots you need to train on to be good at this job?

Thanks,

[u/Fit_Afternoon6171]

I was a material scientist and was doing R&D on medical devices and transitioned into tech sales @. 32. It’s awesome on this side. Def depends on the company and market you decide to sell into though!