Our very own Don Tinker, Life Sciences Senior Associate Recruiter, was recently interviewed and quoted in an article featured in BioSpace, a leading online community for industry news and careers for life science professionals.
The article discussed how college graduates can find their first biopharma jobs. The article raises an important point- There are tons of jobs at the PhD or MD level, as well as the master’s degree level. But are there jobs for individuals with bachelor’s degrees in this powerhouse industry?
Don mentions that there is an emphasis on advanced degrees, especially on the technical side of the life sciences industry: “When you get to some of the technical positions, outside of marketing, sales, business development, executive level, and you’re in lab positions, there has been an emphasis on master’s degrees.”
Often in sales positions or technical support, a technical degree is very desirable. Tinker says there’s been a big change, starting around 2012,“when we really saw a shift, a strong preference for someone with a bachelor’s in chemistry or biology or a strong background in science for a sales position as opposed to someone with a liberal arts degree. They want someone who can answer questions much more easily by having the educational training, formally, as opposed to, “I don’t know, but I’ll talk to a tech person and get back to you.’ It makes them sound more knowledgeable, makes the company sound more knowledgeable, and saves time.”
As part of the interview, Tinker polled a group of vice presidents of sales teams in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Oregon, asking them: At the end of the day, when you have completed the interview process and have two to three equally qualified candidates, how do you decide which one to hire?
Tinker shared his findings: “If you put a person with a bachelor’s next to a person with a master’s, all things being created equal between the two, the hiring authorities in the survey I just did, are going to go with the person they’d want to have a pint of beer with.”
Click here to read the full article.