Advantages of moving into industry

Working in the pharmaceutical industry offers you the chance to find practical solutions to problems of commercial interest.

Aside from being well paid with a compelling benefits package, a career in the pharmaceutical industry offers work that is focused and strategic, and gives you the opportunity to be a part of the drug discovery process. As developing the medicines of tomorrow makes a real difference to people’s lives, working in industry makes for a highly rewarding career. 

Industry provides the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, gaining skills and expertise in many areas. The skills gained during your PhD mean that there are likely to be early opportunities to supervise and train other staff, and to collaborate with colleagues from other disciplines to influence the overarching project. Laboratories are normally well supplied and resourced, and there is a collaborative atmosphere where working together as a team brings about great success and a communal sense of satisfaction.

As industry has the stability to be able to provide further support and continuous professional training opportunities to help achieve career objectives, progressing through your career is usually faster and more graduated than in academia. Career success depends largely on performance and if you choose to pursue a more management focussed career path, the industry will provide an environment where people management skills can be developed. Your career could develop in one of any number of directions depending on your interests and expertise, offering much more flexibility than the traditional academic route, and tends to be more financially rewarding. 

Working in industry also tends to offer more security and stability to your life. You will no longer be reliant on the next grant for your post to continue, and you are unlikely to have to search for new jobs every few years. Should you wish to travel, many pharmaceutical companies are global, offering numerous opportunities to live and work abroad. 

To find out more, see Why work in pharmaceuticals?​