You
are a Research Associate with a B.S. or M.S. degree and
want to advance your career into a Supervisory or Management
position. However, you are running into the common obstacle
that most companies require a Ph.D. to move into a Scientist
or Principal Investigator position in R&D. If you
have no desire to attain a Ph.D., you may want to consider
a move to another discipline that still takes advantage
of your technical and problem solving skills.
Research professionals in this circumstance should strongly
consider positions in Manufacturing, Quality Assurance,
Clinical Affairs, or Regulatory Affairs to advance their
careers more quickly. Consider taking Professional Advancement
Courses in GMP, QA Documentation, or Introductions to
Clinical or Regulatory Affairs to determine your proficiency
and interest in these different functional disciplines
in the biotechnology industry. Also, talk to colleagues
in these disciplines to learn more about the responsibilities
and challenges of their jobs.
Once you have determined the career change you would like
to pursue, look for these openings at your present company,
since the easiest way to make this inter-disciplinary
jump is within your present company. It is very difficult
to make a jump to another company at the same time as
you change your career direction.
A move to these other disciplines for B.S. and M.S. level
research professionals will generally allow you to advance
more quickly in your career. |
