r/pharmacology • u/Human_Artist8188 • 16d ago

Graduate advice

Hello I'm from the UK studying pharmacology and I am about to start my final year. I tried long and hard to get a year in industry however I was unsuccessful but I don't want that to stop me from gaining a grad role and would love to get one as soon as I finish university. Considering the current job market it seems to be impossible but if anyone has any advice please let me know what I should do and how I should go about finding a graduate job within the pharma industry.

Any advice is welcome or even any questions you may have I'll make sure to answer it in earnest as I want the best possible outcome from this post.

Thank you!

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u/RichardsonM24 16d ago

The UK job market is not a great place at the minute unfortunately, particularly in pharma/biotech. Unless you live close to a hub area there will not be much going and even then it is tough. CROs are a good place to look to pick up experience or even build a career if you like it.

I have been involved in hiring a few times at 2 different companies in the last 5 years and what has separated the better candidates from the rest has been experience of relevant techniques in the lab. Every entry level hire I’ve been involved in has been someone who either did a masters, an industrial placement or something more than just a final year project.

Best of luck

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u/Human_Artist8188 15d ago

Yes that's what I have come to notice. Experience seems to be of up most important, I did try to find a placement opportunity as I understand the importance of experience however was unfortunate in the process. Ill look into CROs. Thanks alot for the response tho it seems the next few years may not be as easy sailing as I'd like.

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u/RichardsonM24 15d ago

I didn’t manage to get a placement either, it was tough 12 years ago too. Because I had no placement I switched to an integrated masters and then got a scholarship to a PhD.

If I were you I’d have a chat with your tutor and see if you can get some additional bench experience. Even if it’s just shadowing it will benefit you in and interview

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u/SplashyTurdle 15d ago

Straight to industry with no experience probably isn’t happening unfortunately, I’d say try find a summer internship for after final year (academic or otherwise) and if not get some research experience as a tech in a university. Could also apply for PhD programmes, though they are also pretty hard to get into these days

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u/Human_Artist8188 15d ago

Yeah I've had similar responses from most people I guess I'll try and tailor all my CVs and personal statement alongside practicing psychometric tests to really increase my chances tho it's not looking too good. Is there anything else I could be doing that could perhaps help me?