r/PharmaEire

Hey Folks !!

Just curious about salaries in the QC/microbiology in Dublin, what are people actually earning out there?

I'm currently a Scientific Officer on €35k (3 years of experience) and honestly not sure if that's the going rate or if I'm leaving money on the table. Been in the role a while and starting to wonder if it's time to shop around or negotiate.

Would love to hear from people at different levels, entry level, senior, QC analysts, microbiologists, whatever. Pharma, food, medtech, all welcome.

No judgment, just trying to get a realistic picture of the market.

I'd say a lot of people went into the industry cos it's a natural progression from enjoying science subjects in school/uni? 95% of people in Ireland do nothing to do with science day to day.

I'd say eng is the only interesting role in the industry, the rest is a bucket of bore. Prove me wrong! Do ye have job satisfaction or just pay satisfaction? What other industries did you work in to compare

I've been promoted from junior engineer to engineer at my company but my contract offer is only 2% above what I am currently on. It is also under the general salary range in the industry for my level of experience (2 years).

Is it fair to ask for more money if my level of responsibility will likely not change (sole engineer over area, more so a title change). If so how do I navigate this?

Any advice or past experiences welcome 🙏

I just had a call with a recruiter recommending me for a QA warehouse specialist role based in dundalk. It’s a 7am-7pm shift 3 days on 4 days off. When she told me the hourly rate I may have misheard because I think she said €70.35 an hour but now that I’ve settled and thought about I’m wondering if I misheard and it’s actually €17.35/hr? Would that be more in line with industry standards? Also to note I’m entry level and this would be my first position after graduating.

Anyone here make the move from pharma into a public role ?

opportunities are probably limited but would enjoy the change to try something different other than working for MNC Pharma company

Honestly, I never thought I’d cry over a patient I never met.

So, most of you might not know, but I work in clinical research. Agar mai ekdam simple bhasha mein samjhaun toh har samay poori duniya mein bohot saare clinical trials hote rehte hain. Clinical Trials - the trials done on actual patients before a drug(medication) is launched into the market, to test the efficacy of that drug. Toh mere pas jo bhi clinical trials k projects hote hain, unmein jo bhi patients enrolled hote hain worldwide, I deal with that patient data.

So initially, jab mai yeh kaam seekh rhi thi, mujhe bohot time lagta tha ek ek case krne mein, aur mai bohot zyada frustrate hojaati thi until one day, when I received my FIRST DEATH CASE!!!

I, very vividly remember, a 51-year old patient from India, already suffering from lung cancer, pericardial effusion and pulmonary embolism. It literally shook me from within and I still remember that feeling.

Us din mujhe realise hua ki jinhe hum SUBJECTS kehte hain, not even patients, just ‘SUBJECTS’, they are actually real people with real families and stories.

You might find it a bit dramatic but the realisation that somebody in my country lost their father, their brother, their husband, their friend, left me in tears. Us din mai phoot phoot ke royi.

I know agar aap medical field mein ho toh you cannot be emotional about everything but it’s way easier said than done.

If someone’s associated with the medical field is reading this, have you also felt this emotional turmoil? I would love to know that I am not alone in this.

Hi ,

I was wondering if anybody applied for a Biotech Production Operator position in Eli Lilly Limerick and has heard back. I did the online assessment and was told by the man facilitating the session that the candidates would hear back in 3 weeks its been over 4 weeks. I was wondering if maybe I was forgotten about as there was many others in the session before we went into the breakout room for our individual session.

Many Thanks

I have been working in pharma company as formulation techician almost 4 years.

I finished TuDublin Manufacture of Medicinal Products level 7 PhD recently.

The plan was to finish this and go to study Masters in validation. I needed this to study validation.

I have been thinking what other roles I could get now if I would like; is validation good idea, or what else I could study?

The goal for future is to get off the shift work.

The school is expensive, so I try to think if my idea is good plan or are there better options.

I chose validation because I thought this could get me work outside of pharma industry as well so I would have more options.

I've been in medical device for 8 years and 6 of which in product management. I'm not sure how to benchmark my salary and wondered what others in similar roles are making. If it helps, I work in orthopedic devices, but would be interested what others in similar roles make across all med device.

Estranged family member is taking the voluntary redundancy. Any idea if they'll do 6 weeks a year again? Want to know how much I should worry.

Hi All, i am a quality engineer with a Msc in strategic quality mgmt from UL, iso auditor certification and lean six sigma black belt. I am currently working on the mechanical side of things e.g chilled water pipe work for pharma and data centres mainly.I would like to get into the pharma sector , do you think the GMP and CQV NIBRT courses are worth doing or what would you recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hi all,

I’m looking for some career advice from people already working in medical device / pharma in Ireland.

I’m working in Abbott Kilkenny as an operator nearly 2 years. I’m on the 12 hour shift pattern of days/nights at the moment. The experience has been good overall and I find it a good entry point into this industry. The money is decent (€15.35 base + 33% shift rate which brings it to around €20.41 an hour), but I’m starting to realise the operator role itself can become very monotonous/repetitive long term.

I’m trying to think about what direction to go next in the industry, but honestly I don’t think I’d enjoy very paper work heavy or office based roles. I see some of the engineering/ quality side and a lot of it seems to involve meetings, trackers, documentation etc which doesn’t appeal to me.

The main internal progression routes where I am seem to be a Quality Technician or Manufacturing Technician.

There’s also a 2 year manufacturing technician Apprenticeship programme internally through Abbott. Internal roles are competitive though and most of them are shift based. I haven’t seen many people go from operator to a Quality technician, so I’m curious what pathways people here have taken after operator roles.

A few questions I have are

1. What roles would you recommend targeting after operator experience?
2. Are manufacturing technician roles worth pursuing long term?
3. Are there other practical/ technical roles in the industry with less paperwork?
4. Is it true that if you leave the pharma/medical device for a year or 2 that it can be difficult to get back in?

Sorry for the long post, would appreciate any help or insight from people working in the industry.

Background info - 29 years old, living at home currently. no qualifications related to medical device / pharma.

If you have one let me know if you can share it.

Hello there.

So I've been looking for my first job throughout Europe (I'm European), and the only application that didn't come back with "unfortunately" until now is a QC technician role in Dublin.

Even at the possibility of jumping the gun here, I would like to be prepared. So what should I know before going?

They mention CAPA, RCA, OOS, and OOT - I was never taught any this during university, so I have no clue what it all means in practice. I have 0 experience and no idea how to behave in an industrial lab.

I have also been looking for wages. It seems to start at 40k minimum for someone with no experience, even considering Dublin cost of living. I realize I will have to share housing if I ever do get the job at this wage.

Then there is the interview - I have never interviewed for a pharma role before. I'm so scared of getting an interview and fumbling it.

What should I be prepared for?

I have a chemistry degree and a few years experience in financial services compliance. Trying to combine the two in a pharma setting. I understand QA may not be possible but now looking into reg affairs and internal audit

Any advice on the approach or what to look into would be greatly appreciated - or certificates I can complete to assist in my application would be great

Thank you !!

Anyone have any experience of these and can give any insights? We have just been informed we'll be inspected in June and I want to know how to prepare. We have a scheduled substance license so not sure if this differs from a CD inspection at all.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! Just wondering if anyone else is a Lab or R&D tech and has some salary insight please. I’m an R&D/Lab technician III, I’ve worked in my company for 7 years from operator to my current position. I also manage the lab we work from and I’m an SME on sterilisation and material characterisation analysis. My salary is 40k and has been for a long time now, which is great don’t get me wrong! I’m just wondering does anyone work for a company that would pay more or is this the standard? Thanks a million!!

Hi everyone,

I’m 21 years old and I don’t have a college degree. Recently I’ve started considering doing the innopharma level 6 course. Is it a good way to set a foot in pharmaceutical industry? Or is there any other courses or routes that anyone can recommend to start in pharmaceutical/ biomedical industry? Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you.

Hey guys, quick bit about myself - I’ve been in a QC/Process lab for the last 3 years in the chemical manufacturing industry. I finished my undergrad in pharmaceutical science and immediately started working in the lab. I also have a L6 cert in project management. My salary is 46k with a shift premium of 26%.
I am currently looking to leave my role as the management and team have changed and the place is a far cry from what it was when I started but every place I have interviewed at have been very reluctant to give me another interview when salary comes up and I say 48-50k. (Regeneron flat out told me I was asking for too much when I said 46k for a shift position) My partner comes from a biology and chemistry background with a year and a half experience in medical devices and they got offered a role for 46k.

What realistically should I be expecting? I feel like I’m being reasonable but maybe I’m a bit delusional. I’m also struggling to get interviews for jobs in pharma/medical devices, not sure if that is because of the chemical manufacturing experience or if it’s my CV. I’m starting to feel a bit trapped in my current role.