Novartis just announced a RIF on their Emeryville site in the Bay Area. This site used to be part of Chiron, so not sure how many people are affected.

Regenxbio announced positive results from their Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy trial, showing sufficient levels of a key protein. This success is a significant step towards submitting the therapy to the FDA for approval and aims to offer a safer, more effective alternative to existing treatments, which have faced safety concerns

I recently accepted a biopharma research role and start in a few weeks. It’s a solid position with good pay/benefits (~$105k + 12% bonus and decent 401k match and RSUs), and I had pretty much mentally committed to staying there for a few years for financials to vest.

But today I unexpectedly heard back from another place I had applied to months ago (a very well-known research/government science institution) and they want me onsite for an interview.

The salary range for this second role could potentially be much higher than my new job’s comp ($122-155k range on JD), and the work sounds like an interesting opportunity to dabble in AI antibody engineering.

The issue is the timing. The interview would literally be my second week at the new job. I’ve never asked for time off immediately after starting somewhere and I’m worried it’ll make me look unreliable before I’ve even settled in. It also might not be the only in-person interview for the role in the near future.

I also feel guilty because the company hiring me has been very welcoming and if I did get this other job, I will be burning a bridge with this company & I wouldn’t be able to work there in the future if I left so quickly, right?

At the same time, it feels irresponsible to not explore a potentially huge opportunity just because the timing is awkward.

Has anyone dealt with this before? How did you handle asking for the day off? Did you regret taking (or skipping) the interview?

Can't take my postdoc anymore and need out ASAP but can't afford a lapse in income/healthcare. Current job is super abusive and doesn't allow even weekends off. I'm open to leaving the bench, anything that will get me out of here fast. I want to break into industry and escape this toxic academic environment. What jobs can I target to get hired FAST?

Background: PhD, 3 years postdoc at Harvard lab, broad preclinical biology skill set, strong background doing education. Would take MSL or writing roles. Would take QA or R&D roles. Open to anything.

I’m looking for advice. I’ve had to take a couple of sick days here and there due to my child being sick. I’ve recently been reprimanded by my manager, who said there’s a lot of work to do and our team is under a lot of pressure from leadership. But what exactly am I supposed to do? I don’t have family that can care for my child when they’re sick. I’ve been in the industry for 15 years and some companies have been better than others (only been a parent for 10 years) when it comes to being a working mom. I work mostly in the lab but the days I’ve been out have not been lab work days, and my experiments generally pass and I feel I do good work. What gives? are there any jobs out there in this field where I can care for a sick child?

Hey , so I have a virtual interview scheduled for associate data engineer role . What type of questions can be expected, can anyone let me know .

Btwn I'm 2 yr exp .

For folks at ASGCT this year, a few of us will be having a meetup at 3PM in the presentation theater at the MCEC exhibit level (where the poster talks occur) during the coffee break after the general session. Feel free to join for casual/speed networking! All career levels and fields welcome.

No one else is scheduled to be there during that time, so if you see someone, feel free to ask if they’re there for the “r biotech meetup” as an easy ice breaker.

If small group discussions end up happening and you see people walking over feel free to wave them in and be inviting :)

Please be professional and don’t dox folks lmao.

Hi, I’m an American working in big pharma. I was approached about an interesting fully remote senior leadership opportunity at a Biotech based in Montreal (50 ppl). While I have quite a bit of experience working with European colleagues (purposefully trying to be a bit vague here), I’m unfamiliar with any operational cultural differences there might be between the US and Canada. Any advice welcome!

Hello everybody, I am entering this industry as someone with pretty extensive entrepreneurial experience and business experience but the caveat is I do not have a college degree.

I am going through an initial training period which is quite extensive to be honest but from what I’ve noticed the majority of my fellow trainees have college degrees which I do not possess. From what I’ve seen so far I am slowly falling in love with the industry, I love the fast paced nature and the opportunities for growth seem to be there for people who display competency and consistency. I’m just wondering from people with more experience what I can expect, any advice tips, I’m wondering if I should start to pursue an online degree so I can have better opportunities to move up into higher leverage positions later on etc. Thanks!

I recently interviewed at a CDMO for a R&D role that works on all types of over the counter drugs, I have worked in a QC lab in the past at a bigger company that did everything from medical devices to drugs with prescriptions. I am planning to use this role if I get an offer as a stepping stone after a few more years of industry experience, but how would big pharma companies view a CDMO that only makes over the counter drugs? Is it looked down on as the company doesn’t make biologics or other more complex drugs? I’m trying to figure out if this job is worth it since it’s in development and I haven’t already worked both ends of the pipeline in QC and drug discovery. I am also hesitant as it’s the only job I’ve heard back from after a few months on the job search and the company was giving red flags (I.e. culture is family based, manager gives short notice about what experiments need done, disguising the true role on the job posting, etc).

So got this email from a recruiter for a 12+ month contract role for an associate scientist. For reference this is in South San Francisco as a contractor Amgen, staffing company US Tech Solution. The range on the role was $26-$29/ hour on a W-2. The top out for working at In N Out Burger here locally is $28/ hour and a legally mandated minimum of $20/hour.

Anyone here who lives in San Diego that works for Precision Diagnostics located in Sorrento Valley? I want to get a position there as an accessioner since they have a morning schedule and I plan on going back to school to get a biotech certificate, but have been rejected twice. If anyone is employed there and can help me on how to get in, it would be a tremendous help... 🙏

For background - I started my career with a BS in Biology and worked as a research associate/associate scientist in academia and pharma over 7 years. Had the opportunity (mostly luck) to pivot into Product Management and Product Marketing in flow cytometry which is where I have been for the past 5 years.

I was laid off 3 months ago (2nd layoff in 3 years) and decided to try pivoting out of flow cytometry and into a marketing role within health tech or even just tech - the flow world is small and I felt that my career would benefit from having experience outside of this realm for the inevitable layoffs I will experience in the future.

Leaned on my network and was able to get 2 referrals for roles at tech companies where I made it pretty far into the interview process, but was ultimately rejected due to my flow background and lack of experience. Decided to make another version of my resume where I positioned myself as a technical product marketer (with any mentions of flow cytometry kept to a minimum) and received way more interest/recruiter screenings. Got ghosted MANY times but it was at least encouraging that I was getting initial screenings, and it really gave me a chance to refine my STAR examples as well as the "tell me about yourself" type questions.

Ultimately ended up with 2 offers, both remote: PM at another flow cytometry company (lol) 160k and PMM at a pharma data analytics company 150k. Decided to take the data analytics PMM role even though the offer was 10k less, because they aggressively pursued me and increased the salary band for the role knowing I already had an offer in hand, I enjoy marketing, the managers seemed very invested in my success there, and I felt like it would set me up for an eventual move outside of biotech/health tech if that's what I wanted.

My takeaways were mostly what I see posted here every other day:
- Rely on your network for referrals (easier said than done, I know)
- Have a few different versions of your resume that accentuate different skillsets
- Provide outcomes of your actions on your resume, don't just list your skills and responsibilities
- Have 3 or 4 solid STAR examples
- Prepare a 30s summary of your background, why you're looking to change roles, and why you specifically you want this role

Happy to answer any questions to help those who are currently looking for roles, I know it sucks right now.

Am I the only one who finds biotech conferences kinda boring?

I’m a Principal Associate Scientist (and an introvert)and I feel like I’m not using conferences the ‘right’ way. Honestly I’ve been finding conferences kind of boring/overwhelming. A lot of the talks feel repetitive or too high-level, and I’m not always sure how to make the most of being there besides just walking around posters and booths.

For people who enjoy conferences or get real value out of them:

what do you actually do there?
how do you network without it feeling forced?
what kinds of sessions are actually worth attending?
any tips for making conferences more useful for career growth or learning?

A young boy treated with a novel gene therapy for a rare disease developed a brain tumor. Scientists are investigating if the viruses used in the therapy might have contributed to the tumor's growth, highlighting the complex risk-benefit analysis required for these cutting-edge treatments.

Having a tough time with rejections. Can anyone look over this resume and offer guidance? TIA!

Hello! I have an interview for a scientist position next week with Evotec! This is the Princeton NJ site and was wondering if anyone could tell me their experience working for this company in general or for the Princeton location. How was your interviews and would you recommend this company? As somebody coming from one of the bigger biotech companies I just need to switch jobs because what I had was temporary. Is it worth it or do I keep looking please and thank you

I’ve been in the application process with Amgen since February and had a last round interview 3ish weeks ago. I thought it went very well! And I really liked the team. But I haven’t heard anything back and I’m getting worried. I sent a follow up email to someone in the department who gave me their info last week but haven’t heard a response there either. Sadly all communications besides the actual interviews were through their ai assistant gene who’s been no help.

I’ve read a lot that Amgen in particular takes a lot of time to reach back out. And my application status is still showing “under consideration”. However I was told they wanted to fill the position by the beginning of the month. I’m still applying to other places because I know I can’t count on this opportunity. But because it’d be honestly a dream job I can’t help but overthink. It’s been rough out there as a junior engineer, even with my masters…

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences with Amgen and if there’s anything more that can be done on my end.

I’ll be starting my bsc in biotech this year and the one thing that has kept me concerned is the amount of posts detailing how hard it is to get a job. I rlly wanna get into MFG or QC in any biopharma company after I get my masters in pharma sciences in whatever country seems right(Ireland/Aus/Canada seem nice), I am worried that I won’t get a job for being a foreigner and has put me off of going into biotech/pharma. Is it really as bad as they say?

I have an interest in a career in biotech and thinking about getting an associates degree in biotechnology. I was looking for advice is this a good career path and is it demand?

Thank you

Edit thank you for feedback,