SWT wrote:Thanks DX that is what I was afraid of. I've noticed in some cases there are almost battle lines drawn between pharma and devices groups. That will be good to factor in to my decisions.
Currently I am actually looking within the FDA but job opportunities seem to come strictly from word of mouth here. I have only found a few openings from contacts who required slightly different experience (pharmacokinetic modeling) or one more year of a postdoc to come in as a GS13. My job here involved applied regulatory research rather than review applications (even though I reviewed a lot of applications in the process). I would love to stay here but can't find the opportunities.
Its not really "battle-lines" per se, but more alot of siloed views and trend today for hiring managers and HR to be very narrowed on choice of candidates, that is they are biased - they want medical device experience if they are in medical device and pharma rx experience if they are in pharma, as they are biased they may have a view such as " that med device candidate won't do well in Pharma Rx, its too different")
Today it's really easy to become pigeon holed - and what that means is making lateral moves becomes more difficult.
Not to say it can't be done, it can, i've done it. People do it every day. It may just take longer and requires more effort, be it networking and self-investment. Don't let to be a barrier, just be aware.
You see there is alot of silos and biased thinkng out there, some of it is founded and relevant and can depend on the situation (i.e. you have no time to train you want a specific experience, no negotiation) and some of it is just bias. In Pharma is can be Rx and. OTC, say you're in OTC Regulatory and you want to go to Rx Regulatory, you find same views - yes OTC world is different, but you'll find some hiring manager with a view of .."well that OTC experience is nice,but i really need a Pharma Rx person the OTC person will take to long to train, experiene is not useful". And I can go on, can be even therapy area, Onco vs. say non Onco, can be Pharma Rx anf Vaccines etc. etc.
So just be aware and same job seeking priniples apply, you'll find someone who'll be open minded. You may need to take another direction for a while (i.e. go CRO for a bit) - but networking remains your best tool. Think about what you want and see how the opportunities map out.
And you may even like medical device who knows. But try it out and you know the risks and opportunities now - so good luck! When you're young it's the best time to explore.
Cheers,
Dx