Finding Your Future. ibio Institute Guide to Life Sciences Careers.

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Nigel Small
7 years ago
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1 Finding Your Future ibio Institute Guide to Life Sciences Careers

2 Start Your Search Do you know what you want to be? Choosing a career path is exciting, but it can be scary! If you aren t sure about the path that lies ahead, we have tools to help you explore your interests and discover many different fields. Here to help Taking the first step toward your future sometimes can be overwhelming. The good news is that we re here to help. Our website is a guide to show you how your interests can match many job opportunities in the life sciences industry. Interest questions Interested in technology? You might work well in the medical device industry. Enjoy working with food and animals? A career in agriculture might be in your future. Do you like testing new ideas? You could be a perfect fit for a future in research and development. Jobs of interest The life sciences industry is quickly growing. There are many different life sciences jobs that offer exciting career options for a wide variety of interests. The following pages give information about just a few life sciences jobs. Please visit to find more job descriptions.

3 Job files 101 Wondering what jobs are out there? Our website provides information on 254 life sciences jobs! We provide you with career profiles that have information you want to know job titles, descriptions, degrees needed for getting a job, salaries and what to expect once employed. Business Development and Strategy Planning Manager Salary Range $104,000 to $156,000 Job Category Strategy and Business Development Description Makes business plan(s) and helps develop strategic plans for the services business. From time to time, helps evaluate other company business planning. BS or MS in Business or MBA and 4-7 years of experience Details will vary from company to company, and salary data do not include types of benefits (insurance, retirement options, bonuses, etc.) that are common in the life sciences. The data on our website and in the following job descriptions come directly from employers. Biological Technician Salary Range $25,710 to $57,000 Job Category Description Scientific Technicians Helps agricultural, biological and medical scientists in laboratories. Sets up and uses laboratory equipment, monitors experiments, makes observations and calculates and records results. May do tests on organic substances, such as blood, food and drugs. BS in Biology Chemical Engineer Salary Range $58,780 to $88,890 Job Category Description Engineers and Engineering Technicians Uses chemistry to solve problems involving the production or use of chemicals and biochemicals. Designs equipment for large-scale chemical manufacturing. Plans and tests ways to manufacture chemicals and treat chemical waste. BS in Chemisty or Chemical Engineering and 0-2 years of experience Animal Scientist Salary Range $37,930 to $62,950 Job Category Description Scientists Works to develop better ways of producing and processing meat, poultry, eggs and milk. Dairy scientists, poultry scientists, animal breeders and other scientists in similar fields study the genetics, nutrition, reproduction and growth of domestic farm animals. Animal scientists also advise agricultural producers on how to upgrade animal housing facilities properly; lower death rates of animals; or increase production of milk, eggs and other products. BS, MS or PhD in Agricultural or Animal Sciences and 0-2 years of experience

4 Real-life examples In the rest of this brochure, you ll read a few real-life profiles. When you go to and explore case studies within each section, you ll get more information about real-life professionals like Brandon Alexander. Find out how these professionals got started in their fields. Take your time and have some fun browsing through the different interest sections of the site. Write down some of the jobs you re interested in. If you can, talk to people you know who are connected to the life sciences industry, or ask your guidance counselor for more information. Science jobs are expected to grow at an annual rate that is 13% higher than other industries! Science Career Profiles Brandon Alexander Packaging Engineer CSL Behring, Kankakee, IL BS in Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI I research, develop, test and make packaging parts. I perform packaging assessments, quality complaint evaluations and packaging tests. What I like most about my job is that I am able to improve how long it takes to make packages and the quality of packaging for existing products. My advice to you? Gain as much experience in as many fields as possible. The more you know, the more opportunities you have to find a career. Carey Mathesius Research Scientist-Nutritionist DuPont Pioneer, Ankeny, IA BS in Animal Science, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL; MS in Animal Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA I evaluate potential nutritional changes to food and feed crops modified to enhance their nutritional value and provide resistance to insects or tolerance to herbicides. Agriculture has a huge impact on society as we develop plant products and tools to help feed the growing world population with shrinking land resources. My advice to you? Be open to opportunities and to diversify yourself. Learn techniques and tools that will get you in the door, and build relationships with folks who will help you to develop new skills to further your career.

5 Science Career Profiles Science Career Profiles Margaret Biddle Senior Scientist Astellas, Skokie, IL BS in Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; PhD in Organic Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; Postdoctoral Fellowship, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL Ilze Kurins Antons Senior Director, US Regulatory Affairs Lundbeck LLC, Deerfield, IL BS in Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; MS in Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH I am a medicinal chemist at Astellas. I design and make molecules to test their impacts on the immune system. Working in human health allows you the opportunity to not only solve problems and be creative, but it allows you to help others in the process. I find that aspect of my work to be incredibly rewarding. Science is everywhere and is responsible for so many of the experiences and innovations that we enjoy in our lives. I m biased of course, but I don t think there are many fields as exciting as science today. Emma Tevaarwerk DeCosta Product Manager, New Product Development NanoInk, NanoFabrication Systems Division, Skokie, IL BS in Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; PhD in Materials Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI My group is responsible for maintaining drug product registrations for our company that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Once drugs are approved by the FDA, there are tough reporting requirements to make sure they are still safe and effective. We keep the product labeling up to date, especially with the latest safety information. We also review and approve the advertising and promotion that our company creates to make sure that the messages are within the legal boundaries and are supported by good scientific evidence. This part of my job takes not only good science, but good negotiating skills, because you have to keep everyone in line with the regulations and offer good alternative solutions to their messaging when needed. My advice to you? Be proactive about internships and mentoring programs so you can really evaluate an area of interest. These will also help you get into colleges due to having experience as well as recommendations. I manage people, suppliers and problems to create a final product that people use to research the growth of stem cells. At NanoInk we make tools that write at the nanoscale, a scale roughly ten times the size of an atom. My advice to you? Don t be scared to try. Follow what makes you excited or curious, and don t look at the stereotypical career paths. You can make your own career. Anything is possible, and the ability to think analytically can take you many places.

6 Notes You have read the profiles of different professionals in the life sciences industry, and by now you have discovered that not everyone who works in science companies is a scientist. You know that science industries are seeking talented individuals with all kinds of interests and backgrounds legal, finance, business, government, engineering, customer service, human resources, community relations, education and even art! Science industry employment is stable and science careers PAY MORE. According to the 2012 Battelle Memorial Institute report, the average annual salary of biosciences workers was $82,000. That s more than $36,000 above the average salary of other private-company employees. Your dream job may or may not involve wearing a lab coat every day, but you can go to to find a dream job in the life sciences industry that is just right for you!

Prof. Elizabeth Raymond Department of Chemistry Western Washington University

Prof. Elizabeth Raymond Department of Chemistry Western Washington University Keys to Success 1. Be informed. 2. Do not self select. 3. Find something that interests you...... have FUN, but do not limit