r/biotech

Which company (if any) is universally loved for the way they treat their employees? What company is viewed as the holy grail?

I apologize in advance if the question sounds tone deaf due to the current job market situation, but I was wondering if before the shitty job market (so maybe some years old) people had applied to jobs position just to check if they could get an offer to get an idea if they were good enough. I heard people in tech used to do it

I’ve been watching Amgen’s job postings (among others) and I’ve noticed that a lot of their entry level and mid career roles are being posted outside of the US, and their are only positions for senior managers and associate directors. Anyone else noticing this?

I recently got told that my contract as a RA will be ending soon after less than a year of industry experience. I currently make $23/hr with a MS degree (thesis research not professional program) and have almost 2 years of industry experience as I did a gap year between my BS and MS degrees in QC.

How do you tell family that the field is in bad shape as they are complaining about me apply to very few jobs and those jobs pay less than I currently make? I am based out of the Midwest and I was paid $24/hr doing QC work with a BS degree and no industry experience less than 3 years ago and I can’t find a single entry level or above entry level (RA, associate scientist, scientist 1, etc) in the current area I live in. As soon as my contract is over, I can apply to 5 jobs in 6 different regions as I have friends willing to sublease an apartment or house to me so I can find jobs I’m qualified for in SF, NC, Texas, Seattle, and Boston. I am currently living with family as $23/hr isn’t enough for me to live on in the Midwest so everything for my future apartment is in storage and it would just take me hours to relocate for a new job as everything is packed and housing wouldn’t be a problem.

I’m trapped applying to jobs right now in the Midwest and all I see are lab technician roles (HS/AS degree) or senior scientist roles with no jobs in between those roles. My family wants me to stay within a 6 hour drive from them yet there are no jobs for me and I’m very flexible with relocating for work. Today, my parents said that I need to find a stable and good career yet this was the career they wanted me to pursue 10 years ago. I have told them multiple times over the years that science jobs are on the coasts and industry isn’t stable anymore (they point out people they know, specifically in BD told that have been at the local big pharma companies for decades and gaslight me all the time). In addition to changing their opinion, they have became very anti-medicine (GLP-1, vaccines, etc) over the past couple of years and I even heard my mom listen to an anti-pasteurization video last night even though I have worked with bacteria for almost a decade.

Today, I reached out to my staffing agency about a R&D role as it’s also contract and it would give me more time to get in financial shape/keep my current health insurance for a few more months while looking for a better job, but it’s $20 per hour which was my starting salary when I first started out in biotech and my parents threw a fit about it. I haven’t seen a single QC role be posted even though I’m in a manufacturing hub and just need a couple more years of QC experience to get out of QC and that would be a downgrade from my R&D experience. My family has constantly adjusted their standards for my career and have even told me to pursue a different industry or field like teaching (I have no interest whatsoever after teaching undergrads during grad school). How have you handled the job search and having to take lower quality/pay jobs to make ends meet discussion with your family?

Management in a large organization recently laid off 4 people from our team of 9. 3 of the 4 affected employees were very productive lab. The other was the manager

Now they want us to keep timelines and same deliverables/same scope. It is obviously not possible without burning out and working crazy hours or changing the scope

I am already planning to push back and ask for more time. Even if it cost me my job in next round of layoffs.

What to do besides pushing back? And starting to look for jobs?

A big pharma made me interview almost 8-9 folks individually.. it's been ongoing over 3 months on and off... is this normal? I enjoyed the conversations but God damn haha.. it's a senior role but at some point I gave up coz there would be no communication.. and then they would come out of nowhere for another round...

Anyone experienced something like this before? If yes, did you get the offer? Any other advice?

Curious if this is an option and if we could start campaigning for this?

If you think it’s stupid tell me why.

I’m an experienced biotech professional looking for a job in NYC.

Any leads are appreciated!

The weekly megathread to vent and rant about everything and anything!

Hello!! Looking for some advice on giving a seminar as part of an interview :) I just got offered an on-site interview at AbbVie consisting of a 1-hour seminar, 6 separate 30-min interviews, and 1-hour lunch with the team. I’m fresh out of my PhD and beyond excited for the role (Senior Scientist I), the hiring manager reached out to my PI directly for potential candidates as our research aligns quite well with the role, so I’m pretty optimistic. Was looking for any advice for this stage of interview (I haven’t gotten this far before), especially for the seminar that I’ll be giving. Thanks!

pretend that technical background and skills don’t matter. what would seem ideal to you?

Hey guys,

Just curious how RA find jobs at big companies like Genentech when job postings aren’t listed as “research associate”. Is it mainly through connections or recruiters or are there just not any job postings for big companies like that for RAs

I’m in the UK. I stayed at my first job out of uni for 9 years until November 2025 when I was made redundant. The business had been floundering for over a year so it wasn’t surprising.

I picked myself back up and have been fairly successful for interviews, though I’ve learned that the only thing that got me them was being fully compatible with the job description.

I took a job at a startup in January 2026, which had only existed since 2025. This morning I get the news that I’m redundant again.

I’m not sad about the job, I had been furiously applying elsewhere since my first week as I could tell it was an absolute fucking shambles (they didn’t even pay me on time, if that helps set the scene). But I’m just devastated that it’s happened to me again so quickly. I do not do well with instability and change as it is (I’m AuDHD), and I just feel hopeless for the industry and my future at this point.

Just a rant. I know and very much appreciate that it could always be worse, and that I’m lucky to have had interviews. But I’m still so gutted.

Hi, about to graduate with my bachelors in biology and kind of lost in life. I don’t want to go into research. I have lab experience from school.

Is quality control a good career to go into that pays well and is stable? How do I get into this job?

I’m very disheartened because every job i look at post-grad pays only a few dollars over minimum wage…

Currently working in biotech (within Supply Chain) but want to move to remote work for better work life balance. Trying to see if there are any biotech companies that still offer fully remote roles?

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to figure out how people with computational biology or bioinformatics backgrounds actually land roles at companies like Clarivate, Syneos Health, ZS Associates, or similar ➝ the ones sitting at the intersection of life sciences, healthcare data, and analytics.

A bit about me: I have an M.Tech in Biotechnology (gold medalist), I have bioinformatics internship experience (6 months). I have 9 publications and a GitHub portfolio of ML projects.

The roles I'm eyeing are things like RWE Analyst, Healthcare Research Data Analyst, Patient Analytics Consultant, Literature Review Analyst, or anything that sits at the intersection of life sciences and data which are more research and analytics oriented.

A few things I'd genuinely love to know:

1. What roles at these companies are the most realistic entry points for someone who is a fresher? 
2. Are there specific skills or certifications that actually matter for getting past the ATS/recruiter stage?
3. Are there certifications or tools (SAS, specific EDC systems, HEOR methods) that meaningfully improve your chances, or is it more about domain knowledge?
4. How useful is direct LinkedIn outreach to people inside these companies, and does it actually work?
5. Do gap years matter?
6. Anything you wish you'd known before applying?

I'm also hoping this thread becomes something useful beyond just my situation, there's genuinely not much consolidated advice out there for people trying to move from a research or academic background into healthcare analytics and CRO-adjacent roles in India. If you've made that transition, work at one of these companies, or are navigating the same path, drop your experience. The more honest perspectives the better.

Thanks in advance.

(posted on another account but it was likely flagged so I'm posting it on this one so it can hopefully be seen)

I was a contractor for a few years at a company and tried for a long time to get a FT position while I was there to no avail.

I left because I moved away and needed alot of time to adjust(and knew as a contractor who had to be there every day that it wasn't practical at the time to stay). But I regret leaving because it's been several months with no luck, there's no relevant jobs closeby so I've been looking and applying to jobs in my original area.

I even reached out to my former manager, months in advance, expressing interest in returning when there is a FT role because of how much I enjoyed being there, and I also made it clear that the commute would be fine considering FTEs are hybrid. Turns out there was eventually an open FT role, and I told the manager I applied. The role was posted after I reached out to them about a different role, and the manager literally told my coworker that they want me to be able to return. After 1 month of no correspondence, I asked for an update but got a generic response implying the process barely started(actually they were doing phone screenings at this time). Another month goes by and I hear from friends that theyre doing interviews, but still nothing for me.

I ask again for an update only to be told that they're hiring an internal candidate(a contractor who is already there). I felt so betrayed and hopeless. I was ignored and holding out hope for 2 months not knowing anything aside from info from my friends. I thought the manager would've remembered my good performance and my messages advocating for myself and my interest. This role was a perfect fit and was so important to me, I honestly can't convey it properly here, there's also alot more needed context/nuance.

I feel like I'll never get a job now, I've been out of work for a long time and am in a dark headspace. I'm considering being a contractor again as a last resort to try to get my foot back in the door, but I fear that the distance/commute would scare hiring managers off and blacklist me somehow(plus being a contractor would be a huge unstable lifestyle change until i find a suitable job).

I’m on the fence on what to do. A hybrid model is ideal for me, but those are hard to come by. What should I do, opt for contractor positions and deal with that, or keep applying and wait indefinitely for the right opportunity? Sorry this is so long, I feel like I have nowhere else to turn.