A wide variety of jobs are available in the ever-expanding biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, ranging from positions in food science to gene therapy. New drugs, vaccines, devices and other products are continually developed, patented and placed on the market, which means workers with a vast array of knowledge and ability are needed to contribute to the process
Drug development involves bringing new drugs to market. If a new chemical is discovered to have promise in treating disease, scientists must evaluate its safety, toxicity, metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Researchers determine the best method of packaging and administering the drug. Scientists develop a dosing schedule, and the drug's efficacy is evaluated in humans. Jobs in drug development usually require at least a bachelor's degree in the sciences and often require advanced degrees.
A pharmaceutical company's success relies heavily upon sales and marketing. For each drug manufactured, pharmaceutical companies employ sales representatives to penetrate the market by informing healthcare professionals about the drug's use, safety and side effects. These jobs do not always require a college science degree or even sales experience. What matters in these positions is that the representative is persistent, can engage healthcare professionals and can gain their trust. Increased face time is necessary to successfully promote a drug.
The U.S. Patent and Trade Office issues patents on new, useful and nonobvious products or processes. Patents are issued new drugs, vaccines, cell lines and other products and processes. Patents are important assets to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For 20 years, a patent gives the owner the exclusive right to make, use, offer to sell and sell the product or process. Patent attorneys have science backgrounds, have completed law school and are licensed to practice law and patent law
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration carefully regulates drug development, drug marketing, medical device development and medical device marketing. Almost all biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have compliance departments to ensure the companies are following all the necessary regulations to develop the products, test the products in human trials and obtain approval to market the products. A bachelor's degree is usually required for compliance positions, and advanced degrees in business or law are preferred
Forensic scientists, such as crime scene investigators or crime laboratory analysts, collect biological evidence and use biotechnology to create a unique DNA profile. The profile is compared to DNA databanks or DNA from potential suspects to identify crime suspects. DNA profiles are also used to establish family relationships, exonerate persons wrongfully imprisoned, identify crime victims and find organ donor matches. At a minimum, forensic science careers usually require a bachelor's degree in the sciences. Advanced degrees are helpful
