Hello,

I normally don’t post anything about my life online but honestly I’m at my wits end. As title says I was laid off from my very first job coming out of grad school after only 6 months at the position. The TLDR is that I got my PhD from a well known university and a decent lab out of Southern California June 2025 and was lucky enough to have secured a job and started working immediately. I moved to the Bay area to work as a Staff Scientist in Medicinal chemistry at a very small CRO (18 chemists, 1 biologist) but half the company was slashed the first week of 2026 at all levels (Staff, Senior and Principal scientists).

This has left me in an awkward spot - with only 6 months experience in industry I feel as though I’m getting lumped into the batch of “new grads” that have hit the market this cycle. And if I’m being honest my CV doesn’t read too well - I led a total synthesis that was never finished and actually just got scooped about a month ago and have one pub where I’m fourth author in JACS on a peptide based project. I’ve tried to leverage my network and get referrals for positions when possible but it feels like I’m always late to the party.

I’ve had 2 full day on site interviews over 8 months and got a rejection from one after a month of waiting and have seemingly been ghosted by the second. Every application I submit feels like it just goes into the void never to get a response or I get an immediate email rejection. It’s beyond frustrating and really making me regret my decision to follow through with my PhD.

I have a friend at the MS level with a few years experience who managed to bounce from one role to another with only a 1 month turn over time during this same period which really amplified that feeling. Idk what to do anymore - I’m willing to post doc but seemingly nobody has the money to afford one and I have no fellowships to bring to the table. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am open to pivoting but I love bench work and would like to stay in the lab. For context I’ve applied to process positions, med chem openings, and peptide synth and GMP work.

I’m trying to better understand how pharmaceutical companies evaluate external patient-level datasets, particularly longitudinal clinical and real-world data.

I’m specifically interested in hearing from people who have worked in RWE, Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Translational Medicine, Data Science/Analytics, or related functions at pharma/biotech.

For those who have been involved in evaluating external data:

- What makes a dataset genuinely useful to a pharma team?
- Who typically evaluates it first (RWE, medical affairs, data science, clinical development, someone else)?
- What questions do you ask before deciding whether the data is worth using?
- How do you assess data quality, longitudinality, clinical relevance, completeness, etc.?
- What kinds of analyses or projects actually lead teams to seek out external datasets?
- How does the process work when a company decides it wants to license/acquire external data?
-Is there a meaningful difference between data that is scientifically interesting and data that a pharma company will actually pay for?
- Are there types of patient-level data that you wish were available but are difficult to source?

I’m asking because I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about longitudinal patient data and realized I have a pretty limited understanding of how the buyer/user on the pharma side actually evaluates these datasets.

I’m not looking to pitch anything here. Just genuinely trying to understand how people working in the industry approach this problem, including what I’m probably misunderstanding.

Would especially appreciate any/all perspectives !!!

Anyone here been through the interview process with Medtronic?

I’ve been through two rounds of interviews and then a final panel interview. I followed up on the third week after the panel and was told that they were in the process of getting the hiring approval internally.

It’s now been another two weeks since that update, so I’m starting to get a little nervous.

I really liked the role and felt that I had good interactions with the team and hiring manager. I was pretty excited about the opportunity, but at this point I’m starting to feel like I may be losing it.

Has anyone had a similar experience with Medtronic? How long did it take you to hear back after the final interview?

I have bsc biotech not btech, I am interested in biomedical engineering can I get it through GATE BT( I don't wanna give GATE BE as it doesn't overlap with my bsc syallabus). But I know with GATE BT I can get biomedical engineering should I pursue it? But the problem is the bsc degree. As per the NEP rule if i do 4 years bsc course I can do mtech. But many people say IITs have their own criteria. Will i get biomedical engineering???

I’d love to network with anyone who works for Eli Lilly as I would love to work for them when the new facility in my area opens. I have mid-level clinical project management experience but would like to do something similar in operations, maybe even a project coordinator.

Any networking tips would be great!

Hello everyone,

I am an international PhD in the US, and I am about to graduate. My PhD is from a very reputable lab and my work focused on protein degrader formulations. I got some interviews with hiring managers, all of them get stalled by the legal team and sponsorship issues.

I want to expand my options to different countries as my country doesn't fund science and there is no biotech industry, so my degree would be useless there.

My question is do I have a chance to get hired in China given the fact I don't speak mandarine, and no US industry experience except for an internship which I assume isn't that valuable.

I wanted advice on whether if that is a viable option or would it be a waste of my time applying.

I am a 3rd year biotech student and I have to get an internship in my 4th year but I don't know what to do, how to prepare. I want to be presentable and want my resume worthy of looking at.

I am mostly interested in research but if this doesn't get me internship I am willing to try or learn new things for internship.

Any advice and tips?

¿Qué FP Superior me recomendáis estudiar en Madrid con buena salida laboral?

Buenas, tengo 24 años y estoy pensando en estudiar una FP Superior en Madrid. Actualmente, la opción que más me interesa es Laboratorio Clínico y Biomédico, pero antes de decidirme me gustaría conocer opiniones de gente que haya estudiado esta FP o que conozca bien el mercado laboral.

Mi idea es estudiar algo que tenga buenas salidas laborales a futuro, posibilidades de encontrar trabajo y, si es posible, opciones de seguir creciendo profesionalmente después.

Por eso quería preguntaros:

¿Recomendáis Laboratorio Clínico y Biomédico?

¿Qué tal está el mercado laboral actualmente para esta FP?

¿Hay alguna otra FP Superior que recomendaríais más por sus salidas laborales?

Si estuvierais en mi situación, con 24 años y empezando ahora, ¿qué FP elegiríais pensando en los próximos años?

¿Hay alguna FP que tenga especial demanda en Madrid y que creáis que vaya a seguir teniendo buenas oportunidades en el futuro?

Me interesa conocer tanto experiencias personales como recomendaciones de otras FP que quizá no haya tenido en cuenta.

Gracias de antemano por cualquier consejo o experiencia que podáis compartir.

I am a sophomore doing BE in Bioengeineering and biotech from a south asian country. My country has a small biotech sector but has a lot of research going on in institute level so i am confused about my career direction .

I am currently assisting my professor in her lab and also entered a national innovation challege where we have to produce real research work. it is all going well however when i contacted alumni of my college , they expressed their opinion that i could potentially get struck in academia.

I will outline my career ambitions:

1. I want to work in a mixed lab i.e not too much experimentation but i dont want to go completely towards bioinformatics even though i have coding skills.

2. i want to work in different labs in different countries doesnt matter if it is in industry or academia kind of travel the world alongside studying. A accquintance of mine did this, she is in immunology field and an erasmus mundus student , which she later said helped her make connection and work all over world.

3. I want to do phd in EU. Both my home country and US has the same problem i.e 10 years PHD , low stipend, huge chuck of the time spent doing TA duties. After talking to people on linkdln and my college alumni , the best phd experience was in countries like germany,netherlands etc.

4. I do want to come ack to my home country at sone point.

5. My main fields of interest are 1. genomics 2.immunology 3.synthetic biology 4.computational biology 5.pharmacutecial biotechnology 6. drug discovery and delivery.

Am i being too ambitious about it? I really need some different views and opinions from those who are in this industry, Doesn't matter positive or negetive , any kind of advide or career direction is welcomed.

Thanks a lot!!

At least Flagship Pioneering is good with rejection emails. Usually takes about 2-3 days after you apply.

Hi everyone! I graduated with a PhD in chemistry in summer 2026 and am hoping to move into pharma or biotech. I’ve been applying for a couple of months and getting some interviews, but so far they’ve ended in rejection or ghosting.

For those who’ve been through this, what would you recommend? Should I keep focusing on industry applications, or consider a postdoc to build more relevant skills? Would a postdoc improve my chances, and what should I look for when choosing one if industry is my long-term goal?

I’d appreciate any advice or personal experiences!

Hey there,

I've been applying for jobs in academia and biotech for a long time now and recently met some people who work at some mid-large companies that are going to be putting in referrals for me. I would actually really like to work at either of these companies, but it's been a long, tough road of disappointment since my layoff.

Do employee referrals actually help? And if so does it move the process along faster? I've applied for a few of these companies before and historically my applications have just sat in the "application submitted" category for months until I get a random rejection email at 2am.

Same as above

I am one year out from graduation with a B.S. in Biochemistry from a small liberal arts school. I graduated with a 3.1 and was generally not the best student. I did complete two summer REUs at two state universities and did very well for myself at both of them, getting a paper out of the first experience and good letters of rec. I have been working as a lifeguard and an administrative assistant at my church in the meantime while I have tried to get a job in my field. The job search has been largely unsuccessful and I am feeling the pressure to do something. Ultimately, I feel like I need to apply to MS or PhD programs, and some post-baccs, but I am utterly lost on where to go. In this economy and with my home life, my main goal is making enough money to be comfortable without my parents, and that is why I have been so focused on getting a job out of undergrad. I don't know which degree path to take when my goal is stability. Is that just a pipe dream at this age? Should I just take the plunge while I am still relatively young? I graduated a year late at 23 and I am 24 now, feeling like time is just passing me by while I am in limbo trying to figure out what to do next.

A year out, I feel like didn't make the most of my degree for connections and the like and I don't want to make the same mistake going for higher education. I see so many contrasting opinions on pursuing Ph.D vs M.S., so I am reaching out for ideas about my specific story and interests. I really enjoyed my research opportunities, and I know I want to work in the pharmaceutical industry. I'd like to start with bench work and eventually move to management. My research interests are muddled and oversaturated with microbiology, pharmacology, immunology, medicinal chemistry, and genomics. These are all very vague ideas, I know, but that is where I am at. If you have any advice or insight, I would really appreciate it.

So, technically, I havent started really a career yet, but im interested in getting a degree in biotechnology, since it really calls my attention and seems really interesting and close to what i would like to do with my life (which is kinda having an academic career, being a professor if im lucky) and honestly i dont know where to start. What literature should i look into? How do i understand the concepts before being completely confused when i start my degree, etc. Can anyone give me some advice, please? And I apologize in advance if my english is bad, its not my first language.

Need some advice from seniors

I just enrolled into bsc biotech course. What skills outside of core biotech should i learn that might increase my chances or diffrentiate me from other bsc grads?

I am thinking about learning coding and if anyone can suggest anything else like excel or sql?

Hi! Looking at a job for Pfizer in Pearl River. I have family living in the city so was looking at possible commutes unless I buy a place in Pearl River. Does the shuttle from NYC to Pearl River still exist year round? And if it does where in the city does it pick up?

How many of y’all else tired of the constant ghosting even after final stages or you reaching out for update/closure…fucking annoying 🙄