If you like:
💡Working for pharma/biotech while maintaining relationships with the medical community as a trusted scientific advisor
💡Communicating discoveries and products to the clinic
💡Delivering scientific presentations
💡Breaking down barriers between scientists and doctors/healthcare workers
💡Specializing in knowledge of complex diseases and treatments available
💡Travel 50%+ of your work week (typically)
Things to keep in mind:
📚it’s tough to get an “in”. Prior experience and who you know is valued very highly.
📚 Be strategic with applications and only apply where you have an internal reference (they take note!).
📚Clinical experience is obviously preferred, so either coming from clinical higher education or working in the clinical setting before (eg. clinical manager or regulatory affairs manager, will discuss more another week) is useful.
📚Most will require doctoral education (PhD, MD, PharmD).
Why take scientists?
🧪Scientists understand complex diseases and are better equipped to dissect and disseminate complex information to highly educated medical professionals.
🧪Scientist advice is taken seriously by medical professionals.
Job opportunities to keep an eye for:
💻 Medical Science Liaison
💻 Field Medical Director
💻 Regional Medical Liaison
Ways to learn about this career:
🗣️networking, networking, networking
🗣️there’s a yearly MSL conference at least in the US which is a great place to network
🗣️take classes about clinical trials
🗣️try to see if you get your current project or get onto a new project with clinical elements
🗣️some companies offer internships/training programs