Many commercial careers in the life sciences benefit from a scientific or technical background. In some cases, like R & D, patent work or medical sales, the requirement for a life science background is clear. In other careers, life sciences may be an advantage, but business awareness, communication skills or work experience may be more.
In this section we hope to give you an overview of the range of careers that will be open to people with a life science background.
Research & Development
Communications
Sales & Marketing
Business Services
Legal
Finance
Technology Transfer
2. Research & Development
- Research Scientist
A research scientist is the person responsible for coming up with an idea and investigating that idea until it becomes plausible and is ready to be developed further and taken to the market.
- Process/Development Scientist
This involves taking a prototype or early stage product and getting it to the stage where it is ready to reach the market. It involves testing the proof of principle and reliability of a product as well as ensuring it can be produced economically.
- Product Development
This covers the process by which a concept for a product is turned into a commercially and scientifically viable product that will appeal to potential customers. Typically this type of role will involve working with other areas of a business from researchers and production to sales and marketing.
- Academic Research
It is possible to combine academic research with more applied or commercially focused research. Industry sponsorship and government schemes can cover industrial PhDs, postdoctoral collaborative work and larger initiatives jointly funded by industry, academia and the government.
3. Communications
Communicating extremely technical scientific concepts to customers, investors and the public provides a huge challenge that requires a thorough scientific grounding and excellent communication skills.
- Public & Investor Relations
Perhaps nowhere is a well thought out and immediately responsive public relations strategy as important as in companies which are in a financially volatile sector. These companies are also subject to a vast amount of regulation and are frequently confronted with difficult ethical questions. Public Relations concentrates on projecting a positive company image to customers and the general public. Investor Relations focuses on those who control funding - venture capitalists, banks and institutional investors.
- Technical & Medical Writing
This can cover a wide range of activities from producing reports on clinical trials in order to register new drugs, to writing technical guides to new laboratory instruments or products or advertising for new drugs or products. In all cases, you must have excellent writing skills and be articulate and accurate with an excellent eye for detail. At the more creative end of the spectrum, for example medical advertising, creativity may be more important than a technical background.
- Clinical Trial Management
Several clinical trials are required for every new medical product that is used on humans, and each requires people in a number of different disciplines to design, implement and analyse the trial. Knowledge in matters medical and statistical are likely to be of particular use
4. Sales & Marketing
Once a product has been developed, commercial strategies are needed to ensure that it is well publicised to the correct audience.
- Marketing
The task of the marketing department is to promote the product to the right people, at the right time, in the right way with the right messages. This will involve creation and management of a brand, ensuring product recognition, loyalty and differentiation from other products.
- Sales
Once a product is ready for the market it will need to be sold in the right way by people with the appropriate knowledge to ensure maximum turnover and profit within the business. This can involve a lot of travel and a lot of relationship building.
5. Business Services
Business services generally involves working with companies which can help with expanding businesses, making strategic plans or improving efficiency or competitiveness. The skills involved can be transferred from industry to industry and positions may sometimes require business experience, especially in smaller, specialist service companies.
- Consultancy
Consultancy is a service offered by specialist companies that will send specialists into a business and look at various areas such as processes, logistics, regulatory matters, IT, marketing strategy, HR, etc. and suggest improvements or put in place necessary improvements.
- Business Intelligence
Involves the acquisition of information on products and companies in a particular market, business intelligence can encompass market research, business publishing and other related work.
- Business Development
Business Development executives and managers locate and research promising business opportunities and will work with other companies to reach agreement on terms. They will also get involved in designing and implementing strategies for company growth.
6. Legal
There is enormous scope for people with a scientific background within the legal sector. Increasingly scientific degrees are required for roles such as intellectual property lawyers or patent attorneys. These roles involve the protection of ideas. For many science companies their entire value is based on their intellectual property so protecting and preserving it is top priority.
7. Finance
- Equity Research
Equity researchers or analysts carry out in-depth and often complex analysis and research of companies and market sectors. They will then report on whether that company represents good value as an investment and what the long-term financial prospects for a firm are. Generally, researchers will work for fund managers such as pension or investment groups to determine how they invest their money. Alternatively there are independent research groups who produce reports for others to use.
- Venture Capital
Venture capital is money invested in small companies that have not yet listed on the stock exchange. They offer shares in their business in return for any money invested. Usually, venture capitalists will hope that the company becomes very successful and floats on the stock exchange - allowing them to make a good return on their investment. Potentially the returns are great but so are the risks! There are only a small number of UK Venture Capital firms involved in the life sciences sector and they will frequently require potential employees to have business and science experience.
- Accountancy
Accountancy does not often appeal to many people, however, there are many opportunities for qualified accountants. Some accountants become more involved in advising the business on how to raise finance or acting as business consultants and planning strategy and so on.
- Investment Banking
Investment Bankers advise companies on how best to raise money in order to undergo major financial changes such as raising capital to go public, merging or acquiring other companies, funding large research projects and other financial transactions.
8. Technology Transfer
Technology Transfer Offices are usually based in or around universities or scientific campuses. They are responsible for protecting and commercialising promising ideas and projects resulting from research. Technology Transfer Executives will liaise with scientists who have a commercially valuable idea, assess it's commercial potential, manage the patent process (if necessary) and ensure the idea is exploited to its maximum potential.
