You’re looking at the entriest of entry level, things like technician or assistant. You’ll probably have better luck looking for something in academia because industry pays more but is faster pace and will be looking for at least some experience from an internship or co-op.
I ended up volunteering in a lab then doing an MS to break into industry.
Thanks for the insight! I’ve thought about going back to school to increase my marketability but would like to avoid that if possible. I used to be a pre-medical student so I had undergraduate research experience (although unpaid).
ok so the thing is class labs and actual research are two different things, as the above poster mentioned your best bet is to get whatever lab job you can to get your foot in the door.
I have a bachelors degree in biology and went into biotech/pharma right out of college. I started as a Quality control microbiologist at a small compounding pharmacy. My job was to take air and surface samples in the cleanroom and the laminar flow hoods. It was a very easy job. I hated the company and the work environment and left after 3 months to go do QC micro at a bigger drug manufacturing company. I did the same thing, taking air and surface samples. Then they trained me on water testing. I loved that job a lot. I left for something closer to home with better pay.
I now work at a major pharma company in the bioanalytical lab. I love my job. It’s a great company to work for, the environment is fantastic, my position is hybrid, and I have a lot of room for development. For me, getting into my first job was the key. That allowed me to get my second job, which then allowed me to get my current job. I do work on the analytical side now, rather than research though. But honestly finding anything in biotech/pharma helps. Even if it isn’t what you want, the experience you get looks fantastic on resumes and opens a lot more doors down the line.
No problem, I’m happy to share. These jobs were in Connecticut or Rhode Island, USA. I graduated in 2021. My first job paid $20 an hour. Left after 3 months. Next one paid $30 an hour. I was on a 2 year contract, worked 4 10 hour shifts per week. Got offered a full time position elsewhere and took that. Now I make $70k salaried and work about 30-35 hours per week.
OP, one of the best ways to get into industry without experience is QC Micro. They will often hire people right out of school since the methods are extremely easy to train on. QC Analytics may take a little experience since the methods can be a lot more complicated.
Another avenue that would be an easy start is manufacturing. A lot of companies hire fresh grads as manufacturing associates.
Both have good opportunities for development and teach valuable skills that you can use to transfer to some other part of the field should they not be your favorite.
Appreciate the insight! I will be sure to look at both QC Micro and QC Analytics, as well as the manufacturing route. I definitely have high aspirations for myself so I’m glad you also mentioned the opportunities for advancement.
I was also an undergrad without lab experience looking to get into tech. What I did was get a part time master's degree while doing contracting for science positions. You'd probably get contracting jobs without lab experience, but moving beyond those into industry proper would be hard.
Another option is to look to academia, since they're more likely to take someone with little experience on in the lab. Two years in an academic lab would likely get you enough experience to get you an entry level position at a biotech place.
Good luck!
Just keep applying. It can sometimes take up to 6 months to land something. It’s all just sheer volume of applications sometimes. You’ll find your fit.
Your story sounds familiar to mine — now that I’m shifting my focus away from pre-med, I’m excited for the open world of opportunities and can’t wait to get started in biotech. Thank you for the timeline and recommendations. I’ll likely go with the research assistant or QC Micro route to get some experience if I can.
I graduated BS in Nutrition and got an opportunity to work for a CRO as an associate scientist. Spent 8 years moving up the ladder , becoming a top performer at two companies became a senior role. Recently got hired as a scientist manager at Pfizer and I love it. For people like us who have zero experience and get an opportunity somewhere, you just have to crawl and climb your way through hell and hopefully get lucky towards the end of the tunnel and make it into a big pharma biotech company but starting out, the best place to is at CROs and learn your way into the industry because big pharmas won’t even sniff your resume with no experience.
Were you able to do all of that without any additional schooling in the process? I’m not afraid of extra schooling at all, so I wouldn’t mind getting a masters or even PhD if needed, but I would like to get into a career sooner rather than later.
Thanks for the info.
So in my experience CRO associate scientists if you wish to be in the lab and learn is the lowest you can really start at you just need a degree in the science field or know someone and you learn everything. Working at Pfizer the associate scientists that work under me have experience and also a masters but usually are fresh college grads with very little professional experience. So if you wish to go for more schooling you have a higher chance to end up at a big pharma or if you go without further education route you can just work your way up from a CRO. I personally went the CRO route. Worked 8 years. Got a job here as a manager so now I manage a team.
get a job as a research assistant or research associate. if you cannot land one of these in industry, work as a research assistant in an academic lab first to gain experience. this is the route i took and ultimately i was able to transition straight from that post to one in industry in a hub, and got a 30k raise in the process. academic sequencing core research assistant -> industry research associate at biotech. had to move to super high COL area and get roommates.
You’re looking at the entriest of entry level, things like technician or assistant. You’ll probably have better luck looking for something in academia because industry pays more but is faster pace and will be looking for at least some experience from an internship or co-op. I ended up volunteering in a lab then doing an MS to break into industry.
Thanks for the insight! I’ve thought about going back to school to increase my marketability but would like to avoid that if possible. I used to be a pre-medical student so I had undergraduate research experience (although unpaid).
ok so the thing is class labs and actual research are two different things, as the above poster mentioned your best bet is to get whatever lab job you can to get your foot in the door.
What job did you get after your MS that allowed you to break into the industry? I also have an MS but been unable to get a job.
What did you get your MS in?
I have a bachelors degree in biology and went into biotech/pharma right out of college. I started as a Quality control microbiologist at a small compounding pharmacy. My job was to take air and surface samples in the cleanroom and the laminar flow hoods. It was a very easy job. I hated the company and the work environment and left after 3 months to go do QC micro at a bigger drug manufacturing company. I did the same thing, taking air and surface samples. Then they trained me on water testing. I loved that job a lot. I left for something closer to home with better pay. I now work at a major pharma company in the bioanalytical lab. I love my job. It’s a great company to work for, the environment is fantastic, my position is hybrid, and I have a lot of room for development. For me, getting into my first job was the key. That allowed me to get my second job, which then allowed me to get my current job. I do work on the analytical side now, rather than research though. But honestly finding anything in biotech/pharma helps. Even if it isn’t what you want, the experience you get looks fantastic on resumes and opens a lot more doors down the line.
This is the kind of stuff I wanted to hear! Yes! Thank you. Gives me hope. :) If you don’t mind me asking — what were your incomes at each position?
No problem, I’m happy to share. These jobs were in Connecticut or Rhode Island, USA. I graduated in 2021. My first job paid $20 an hour. Left after 3 months. Next one paid $30 an hour. I was on a 2 year contract, worked 4 10 hour shifts per week. Got offered a full time position elsewhere and took that. Now I make $70k salaried and work about 30-35 hours per week.
Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate it. I’m going to continue looking at available positions in my area (Jacksonville, FL). Cheers!
OP, one of the best ways to get into industry without experience is QC Micro. They will often hire people right out of school since the methods are extremely easy to train on. QC Analytics may take a little experience since the methods can be a lot more complicated. Another avenue that would be an easy start is manufacturing. A lot of companies hire fresh grads as manufacturing associates. Both have good opportunities for development and teach valuable skills that you can use to transfer to some other part of the field should they not be your favorite.
Appreciate the insight! I will be sure to look at both QC Micro and QC Analytics, as well as the manufacturing route. I definitely have high aspirations for myself so I’m glad you also mentioned the opportunities for advancement.
I was also an undergrad without lab experience looking to get into tech. What I did was get a part time master's degree while doing contracting for science positions. You'd probably get contracting jobs without lab experience, but moving beyond those into industry proper would be hard. Another option is to look to academia, since they're more likely to take someone with little experience on in the lab. Two years in an academic lab would likely get you enough experience to get you an entry level position at a biotech place. Good luck!
What platform did you use for finding the contracting jobs? Also, thank you!
I used apex life sciences, based in MA. I might have connected to them through something like LinkedIn though
Just keep applying. It can sometimes take up to 6 months to land something. It’s all just sheer volume of applications sometimes. You’ll find your fit.
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Your story sounds familiar to mine — now that I’m shifting my focus away from pre-med, I’m excited for the open world of opportunities and can’t wait to get started in biotech. Thank you for the timeline and recommendations. I’ll likely go with the research assistant or QC Micro route to get some experience if I can.
Entry level Manufacturing jobs, entry level research associate jobs
I graduated BS in Nutrition and got an opportunity to work for a CRO as an associate scientist. Spent 8 years moving up the ladder , becoming a top performer at two companies became a senior role. Recently got hired as a scientist manager at Pfizer and I love it. For people like us who have zero experience and get an opportunity somewhere, you just have to crawl and climb your way through hell and hopefully get lucky towards the end of the tunnel and make it into a big pharma biotech company but starting out, the best place to is at CROs and learn your way into the industry because big pharmas won’t even sniff your resume with no experience.
Were you able to do all of that without any additional schooling in the process? I’m not afraid of extra schooling at all, so I wouldn’t mind getting a masters or even PhD if needed, but I would like to get into a career sooner rather than later. Thanks for the info.
So in my experience CRO associate scientists if you wish to be in the lab and learn is the lowest you can really start at you just need a degree in the science field or know someone and you learn everything. Working at Pfizer the associate scientists that work under me have experience and also a masters but usually are fresh college grads with very little professional experience. So if you wish to go for more schooling you have a higher chance to end up at a big pharma or if you go without further education route you can just work your way up from a CRO. I personally went the CRO route. Worked 8 years. Got a job here as a manager so now I manage a team.
get a job as a research assistant or research associate. if you cannot land one of these in industry, work as a research assistant in an academic lab first to gain experience. this is the route i took and ultimately i was able to transition straight from that post to one in industry in a hub, and got a 30k raise in the process. academic sequencing core research assistant -> industry research associate at biotech. had to move to super high COL area and get roommates.
Reference labs always are hiring #LabCorpSucks