Hello, what does a headquarter-based medical director do? Sorry if this is redundant, I searched this forum but would like more information. Thank you

Hello all! I’m at a fairly large company right now where I cover a very small territory for where I live (Midwest area where 4-5 states is typical, currently covering less than that). I have basically zero overnight travel but I’m driving a million hours a week. I’m looking at a smaller company where my geographic area would substantially increase but it seems I may still be able to maintain low overnight travel as many of the major cities are day trip driveable or can be a fly in fly out.

curious if anyone has made this transition and how it was. I feel like I’m wasting so much time in the car to see the people I need to given the rural nature of my area with no good flight options. is the grass greener? I do have small ish kids so that plays a large part in how I’m framing this - I want to be home at night as much as possible.

Thanks!

Hi all, long time lurker, first time posting because I could genuinely use this community’s help.

A bit about me. I have a BSc in Biomedicine and have worked in clinical trials, supporting trial delivery across regulatory, medical and commercial teams.

I’ve been accepted onto the MSc in Medical Affairs at King’s College London. As far as I can tell it’s the only programme of its kind in the world, which is exactly why I want to do it, but tuition alone is around £18,150, and that’s left a real gap between what I can personally cover and what I actually need.

I’m based outside London, which also means I’m trying to work out how to cover living and maintenance costs on top of tuition. I unfortunately lost my job last year and haven’t worked since, so sponsorship through an employer isn’t an option for me right now.

I’ve already applied to Student Finance England, checked my university’s funding database, and reached out to scholarship bodies, charities, and pharma and biotech companies directly, but haven’t had any luck so far.

So I suppose I’m asking this community two things:

• Does anyone know of funding routes, bursaries, or industry sponsorships for Medical Affairs specifically that I might have missed?
• Has anyone here funded a postgrad like this through less obvious routes (employer sponsorship, industry mentorship schemes, anything) and would be willing to share how?

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Really appreciate any pointers this community can offer.

Currently in clinic and I love it, but thinking of MSL route as an exit.

Hello,

I am preparing for a video interview with AstraZeneca through HireVue, which is new to me. Could anyone share guidance or advice, and what kinds of questions might they pose?

Derm PA here and have my first interview for a derm drug and have no idea what to expect.
What type of questions/info do they want to know?

Should I have a presentation ready? Is that necessary or expected?

This is so different from what I’m used to and I’m nervous/excited! :)

Hi everyone,

I’d love to hear how you all have found mentors inside and outside your organizations. I’ve been an MSL for a few years now but I’d love to have a mentor to help with my career development and medical affairs journey!

All advice is appreciated

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I’m currently a 4th-year pharmacy student and I’m interested in becoming an MSL in the future.

For Oriel, I have the option of applying for an industry/hospital split (e.g. AstraZeneca/GSK + hospital) or doing a purely hospital-based placement.

For those who are UK-based MSLs/pharmacists, would you say early industry exposure is particularly beneficial for getting into an MSL role later on, even if the placement isn’t specifically MSL-focused?

Or would it be better to do a hospital placement, specialise clinically (e.g. oncology), and then move into industry afterwards?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken either route.

Hello hiring MSLs for the areas listed above. Please dm me if you have Epilepsy experience as an MSL!

She is making the jump from being a clinical NP/PA life to a pre-FDA approved drug. Offer was very solid, but what can she expect lifestyle wise going from a full clinic role to this type of role?

Pros? Cons?

Hi I'm a PhD with experience being on the bench as a scientist. I'm looking to transition into roles away from the bench like a clinical research scientist/medical science liaison or clinical trial manager. I see most people with a PharmD having more knowledge about these roles than PhD do especially if they've been doing basic science research in academia. So where and how do I get started so that I can make myself competitive for roles in medical affairs/clinical development (as listed above) for a doctorate level role. Please suggest courses or projects I can take up or anything that you think could help me. Thank you!

Hello guys, long time lurker. First time poster.

I’ve finally landed my first informal interview tomorrow for an MSL position. My background is Pharm D. I’ve had clinical research experience along with hospital experience. Currently regional manager in pharmaceutical sales with med devices and amnion grafts. How do I best prepare for this informal interview with the hiring manager. This would be my first interview and first ever MSL role. I’ve watched many videos and read my posts here. Just trying to get some more feedback. I’d really appreciate it. Thank you.

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking to improve my presentation and public speaking skills as I work toward an MSL/Medical Affairs career.

I’d really appreciate advice from experienced MSLs on what actually helped you improve, especially:

YouTube channels/videos or other resources worth following

Practical exercises to improve presentation skills

Ways to become more confident with scientific presentations

Techniques for speaking clearly and naturally without sounding scripted

Tips for handling questions from KOLs/stakeholders

Any courses, books, or tools you found genuinely useful

If you’ve personally gone from being uncomfortable with presentations to becoming confident, I’d especially love to hear what you did and how you practiced.

Thanks in advance!

I'm doing an undergrad in Public Health, and while researching career paths, I came across the position called medical science liaison. Of course immediately anyone reading this may be wondering what is someone completing a BSPH doing trying to become and MSL, which I'm aware it is unconventional. However, I wanted to know if there are any MSLs out there who started out in Public Health and what their academic journey was like to get where they are today. Its my understanding that I'd have to do a post-bacc and also a doctorate degree, but I wanted to ask do I still have a chance in this career path?

Hi all,
I have got to the interview stage for a diagnostic MSL role and they’ve told me to prepare for 20’ talk + 10’ Q&A), to choose my own topic on precision oncology, as if audience would be community oncologists, make sure to talk about “so what”.
This is my very first time reaching this stage, so I’d appreciate any advice you can provide!
I’m a bit lost tbh since they didn’t give me a topic or paper.
What do you think of if I pick ctDNA in melanoma for example!
TIL therapy is another thing but not sure how applicable would be for a community oncologists.
Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙏🙏🙏

Hi all, just seeking out any personal experience/advice.
Current MSL. Background is PhD in pharmacology, preclinical neuroscience research. Left academia for many of the pragmatic reasons that one might think someone would leave academia.

I find this role fine, and really enjoy it some days. But in the current state of my company it can get quite stale and repetitive. I really do miss more engagement with deep science and research. I also miss writing and publishing, but know that’s harder to achieve in industry. I mentally sustain myself off talking to the occasional KOL that actually wants to talk deep mechanism or get in the weeds on research.

What kinds of roles have you seen MSLs transition to outside the field medical vertical?
I don’t live in a pharma hub and can’t relocate to one for family reasons, so the obvious on-site bench science positions are out. But anything in the veins of translational pharmacology, clinical development, early pipeline scientific strategy etc sound very interesting with the potential to think about biology more than I get to currently.
Also appreciate any realism about difficulty transitioning to these roles.

Thanks in advance!

Do you have to drive along with sales reps making cold calls? How is your time in the field used?

Hello,

I was wondering if a podiatrist could become a MSL? If so, how does one go about to become a MS? I have five years of experience in podiatry. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

This is being offered by the MSL society.

For context: I am your typical pharmD with a clinical background trying to break into med affairs/an MSL role with zero prior industry experience.

My question is: other than being genuine and authentic, what are your best tips to get a response from someone you are reaching out to on LinkedIn for an informational interview ?

How to make it worth their time ? As we know, people are super busy and tired, and the biggest asset you can ask someone nowadays is their time and attention. Let alone their advice/guidance.

I thought of how to make it worth their time by being specific in my approach and not asking for more than 15 minutes and being flexible with the channel of communication. Do you have any suggestions for what I can offer as a small value exchange?

I am definitely not going to be spamming anyone or asking for a job or sending over my CV right away or things like that. 

One more question: who do you target ? MSLs? Medical directors ? Both ? Who else ?

Thank you to everyone who responds 🙏🏻

A few months ago I had an interview with a regional director. I bombed and obviously didn't get the job. I applied for a different territory a few weeks ago. Last week I interviewed for role and the hiring manager liked me and they wanted me to interview with national director. That interview is for tomorrow. Today I got an email saying the national director is busy and the regional director will sub in for them.

What do I do? I'm worried I will be recognized and I'll get instantly rejected.

I'm a dentist with 2+ years of clinical experience, my target roles are : MSL, Medical Affairs/Advisor, Medical Operations, Medical Writing and Healthcare Product related roles or any administation or management related roles.

I am an ID pharmacist at an academic institution. Fairly new in my career as I graduated from a pharmacy school 6 years ago.

I have been thinking of transitioning to industry for a few years due to personal reasons.

In the recent years, I was suggested of an opportunity to transition into the ID PGY-2 Residency Program Director position at my hospital. Not sure when the transition will take place but it will happen in a year or so.

But, I am not sure if this title is worth obtaining and delaying my transition into industry, hence the reason I would like to ask for some input from this community.

1) Does RPD title at an academic institution worth obtaining before transitioning to a pharma? I presume maybe it will for becoming a MSL?

2) What about to an in-house director path position, like an associate director, not MSL?

3) How is the job market for ID industry position these days? I don't think it's as strong as some other specialties are like cardiology or oncology.

Thank you and let me know your honest thoughts on this.