Recap: Pharma and R&D
The first career seminar on Pharma and Research & Development (R&D), was organized by the LSCDS Career Seminars Team on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. These monthly career seminars aim to inform trainees about different career paths in the industry by hosting professionals with diverse career backgrounds. In this seminar, more than 50 attendees had the chance to discover career paths in the Pharma and R&D industry, gain insightful advice on professional development, and learn about the roles and responsibilities of our invited professionals, Katrina Innanen, Dr. Elissa Currie, and Dr. Mohammad Ebrahimzadeh.
The Pharma and R&D industry consists of the development of a wide range of products and services with the goal of enhancing research. People working in this industry can be employed by acclaimed pharmaceutical companies or promising start-ups such as the ones that our guests represented.The work duties might change depending on the company and the role but most of the times, professionals in Pharma and R&D work on at least one of the following: data collection and analysis, product optimization, meeting with clients or other teams, and writing medical reports.
During the seminar, our speakers shared their experiences and gave advice to those looking for a job in the Pharma and R&D industry:
Explore the internship opportunities available to you. Katrina emphasized the importance of internships for transitioning from academia to industry by sharing her own experience where her Master's internship led her to her current position.
Actively seek learning opportunities to improve your skills. Our guests suggested challenging yourself with different tasks found within the company and courses provided by the company, such as LinkedIn learning.
Recognize the ongoing connection between R&D careers and academic research. Each guest demonstrated that their careers have connections to academic research, including producing services, that improve research efficiency, developing medical devices, and designing compounds to be used in clinical trials.
Working in a start-up can have its advantages and disadvantages. Wearing different hats in a start-up can help develop new skills and become marketable. However, our guests highlighted that working in a start-up might mean learning unfamiliar skills rather quickly!
We are looking forward to our next seminar and our workshop on Online Presence, taking place on Thursday, November 10 (learn more here)! Be sure to check out the LSCDS events calendar to learn about and register for our future events. Do not forget to also follow us on our social media – LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter!”
