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If you thought the pharmaceutical business was just about top boffins poring over test tubes in a lab, you’d be very wrong. While the scientists are a crucial part of the industry, there’s also scope for a huge number of other roles…

The pharmaceutical industry is big business in the UK – there are about 80,000 employees, and of these it’s thought that more than a quarter are graduates.

The UK itself is at the forefront of the global pharmaceutical industry, with a record of success that is the envy of the world. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry says that British laboratories have produced seven of the world's top 25 medicines - a feat second only to the US.

Indeed, pharmaceuticals are one of Britain’s leading manufacturing sectors – the value of UK pharmaceutical exports in 2004 was an estimated £12.2 billion, the equivalent of more than £140,000 per employee.

Another important healthcare industry in this country is medical devices, which includes creating and testing cutting-edge products as well as the sales and marketing necessary to get them to health professionals and patients. Products range from latex gloves to the latest life-support machines.

Broadly speaking, the aim of pharmaceutical companies is to discover and develop new drugs and treatments for a host of conditions, including many life-threatening diseases. Extensive research and trials are needed to ensure safety and effectiveness before products can be brought to the market. It can take 10 years or more and cost around £350 million to develop a new drug.

Iain McLaughlin, head of recruitment for GlaxoSmithKline UK Pharma, says: ‘The pharmaceutical industry offers superb prospects for talented and ambitious graduates.

‘There’s a common misconception that pharmaceutical companies only look for science graduates – at GSK that’s certainly not the case.’

Graduate opportunities
Job roles in the pharmaceutical industry cover all aspects and all levels of research, development, production, marketing, sales and management. Graduates with science and life-science degrees, and even post-graduate science qualifications, are certainly in demand, especially for the science-orientated jobs.

However, other degrees can be just as welcome in the sales, marketing and management functions where excellent communication skills, a sound business sense and a keen understanding of the industry are essential. Other specialist support services include finance, legal, HR, safety and environmental control, IT, purchasing, accounts and administration.

Working life
As befits some of the country’s top employers, pay conditions, training and the working environment in the pharmaceutical industry are generally excellent, leading to a high level of employee satisfaction. Many starting salaries are in excess of £20,000.

Most firms provide extensive support for career development, with scope for promotion and movement within different parts of an organisation, as well as help in gaining professional or vocational qualifications.
Because of the global nature of the pharmaceutical industry, regular foreign travel and even secondments abroad are a distinct possibility.

Joining the industry
Science degrees are essential in some roles but general degrees are acceptable in other positions. A 2:1 or higher is preferable but not always essential.

Most firms look very favourably on work experience and job shadowing in the industry. At the very least candidates will be expected to have had work where people and business skills can be picked up, even if it’s working in the local corner shop.

Employers look for strong leadership, team-working and communication skills and expect candidates to be driven, committed and ready to take the initiative.

Contacts
www.abpi.org.uk
The website of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) represents nearly 100 companies. The ABPI has produced a free booklet – available via its website – which gives details of careers in the pharmaceutical industry.

The organisation also an excellent careers website at
www.abpi-careers.org.uk

Excellent careers website which has details of jobs, qualifications needed and a list of employers.
www.abhi.org.uk

The website of the Association of British Healthcare Industries, which is the trade association for medical device technology in the UK.

To give a flavour of the opportunities available, we’ve lined up some of the big players, below, to look at what they can offer.

AstraZeneca
As one of the leading players in the global pharmaceutical industry, AstraZeneca has research and manufacturing sites in more than 25 countries and sales in over 100. The firm has an annual turnover of more than £11.7bn and 64,000 employees, with 11,000 in the UK alone.

Every year there are about 20 to 30 graduate openings and Astra Zeneca looks for a minimum of a 2:1 degree.

Jez Chance, AstraZeneca’s recruitment communications manager for global HR staffing, says: ‘We look for people who have fresh ways of thinking.

‘We recruit a lot of people from those attending summer placement schemes, as well as people from year-long industrial placements as part of their course.’

Salary for new graduate recruits is around £24,000, and Jez says the firm has a strong reward culture to ensure progression and promotion – the former chief executive officer started off as a chemist at AstraZeneca.

For more information log on to www.careers.astrazeneca.co.uk

Case study
Danielle Brown, 23, went to Keele University and achieved a 1st class dual honours degree in biochemistry and biology. She decided on AstraZeneca after doing a 10-week summer placement with the firm.

She says: ‘I knew I didn’t want to go into academia, but I did want a scientific research job. AstraZeneca is a large employer in the area and they have a good reputation.’

After applying and going through two rounds of interviews, Danielle got the job. ‘When I started I was put into my working group and started a three-month training course. Some of the modules refreshed my university learning and some introduced me to new techniques.

‘Training doesn’t ever stop here - you learn something new every day. When you work in science, everything is new and challenging.’

Danielle advises that anyone wanting to follow a similar path should get as much practical experience as possible. ‘Take opportunities to learn new techniques and work in a research lab. Also, take note of application deadlines, they tend to be quite early and if you miss them you’ll have to wait another year.’


GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Headquartered in the UK, GSK is a global pharmaceutical company with more than 100,000 employees worldwide and sales in 2004 of £20.3bn.

Iain McLaughlin, head of recruitment for GSK UK Pharma, says that within weeks of starting with the firm on the sales and marketing programme, graduates could be responsible for £1m worth of business and will need to deal with some of the company’s most senior managers.

For non R&D roles, the firm looks for between 20 and 40 graduates every year, and it also takes six to eight graduates onto Leadership Programmes in each of its key business areas. Finance, IT, Procurement, Engineering and Sales & Marketing.’

‘The key job-high is the satisfaction graduates get from being pushed to their limits in an environment that encourages innovation and recognises achievement,’ Iain says.

GSK says ideally, undergraduates should be on course for a 2:1 or higher in any degree discipline. Iain says: ‘We look for motivated, driven and ambitious individuals who have the potential to become our future business leaders.’

For more information log on to www.gsk.com/careers


Wyeth
Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical companies and employs more than 50,000 people worldwide. In the UK, there are positions in a number of areas including sales and marketing, finance, market research, and business support, all with a wide variety of different roles and responsibilities.

There are extensive internal and external training opportunities, and many of the most senior executives started at entry level.

The firm says: ‘Wyeth is an exciting place to build your career and progress. Career opportunities exist across the board and the company, most importantly, is committed to the professional development of each and every employee.’

For more information log onto www.wyeth.co.uk

Case study
Jennie Rowland, 24, joined Wyeth as a Medical Representative in 2002 after graduating from Nottingham Trent University where she studied Physiology Pharmacology and gained a 2:2 degree.

She says: ‘I used a website called www.allaboutmedicalsales.com and shadowed two medical sales representatives. I was fortunate to be put forward by one of the reps I shadowed for a vacancy with Wyeth.’
After two separate interviews – the last one lasting 2.5 hours and including a 15-minute presentation – Jennie got the job and was entered onto a 12-week training course plan. She worked as a GP/hospital sales rep for two years and also completed a Diploma in Marketing after enrolling in a part-time, evening course, sponsored by the company.

Following the 12-month posting, she has recently just started another job with Wyeth as the associate product manager for transplantation across the UK, Ireland, Nordic region and South Africa.

Jennie says: ‘With my background in science and drive to develop my business sense, medical sales was the perfect opportunity to develop the two. The pharmaceutical industry is fantastic to work in, as it is a constantly changing environment and can also be quite technically challenging.’


Merck Pharmaceuticals
With a history dating from 1668, Merck is the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company and is now a global operation with sales of £3.6bn in 2004 and 28,600 employees in 54 countries.

Dr Jim Golby, human resources manager at Merck Pharmaceuticals UK, says: ‘The bulk of our new jobs open to graduates tends to be in the area of medical sales, but employees can move into areas like marketing, management, training, market research and clinical trials.’

Merck takes on about 50 new graduates a year, and the firm has several initiatives to ease the transition from university to employment, including starter loans, comprehensive training and allowance packages.
For medical sales, the company looks for science graduates and those who have work experience and have shadowed a medical rep in the field.

For more information log on to www.merckpharma.co.uk


Stryker UK
Stryker is a leader in the worldwide orthopaedic market and is one of the world’s largest medical device companies. The firm recruits graduates into roles in sales, marketing, supply chain, logistics, finance, human resources, IT, technical services, engineering and customer services.

Stryker aims to recruit 12 to 15 graduates a year, and degrees can be in any discipline. The firm recruits on an ongoing basis.

A spokeswoman for the firm says: ‘Whether our graduates want to grow within a particular field or want to experience different parts of the organisation, if you perform at Stryker the career paths are endless.’
For more information log on to www.stryker.co.uk

Case study  
Laura Bragger, 23, is an HR representative with Stryker and studied Applied Psychology at the University of Sussex in Brighton, securing a 2:1 degree.

She says: ‘The culture at Stryker is one of focusing on strengths - every day I get to do what I am great at.
‘The opportunities for graduates are also endless, with exciting career paths guaranteed. Currently I’m working in human resources but I know that if want a change in direction I will be given this opportunity.
‘Stryker has given me the opportunity to become an expert in my field. I know that I’m going to be working at Stryker for many years. In the current job market this is a real privilege to have.’


Cohn & Wolfe Healthcare
Pharmaceutical marketing firm Cohn & Wolfe Healthcare was established in 1995 and works for pharmaceutical and consumer health clients based in the UK, Europe and internationally.

Graduates have joined the company from a range of backgrounds – including architecture, history and psychology - and starting pay is around £20k.

Cohn & Wolfe Healthcare takes on about two graduates a year. For those successful, the firm says that promotion is based upon performance - a successful graduate can often expect to be an account manager within three years, an account director within seven and on the board within 10.

For more information log on to www.cohnwolfe.com

Case Study
Jim Baxter, 27, graduated from University of Central Lancashire in 2000 with a degree in public relations. Jim joined Cohn & Wolfe in 2002 as an account executive.

His previous work experience enabled him to join at a higher level than a graduate straight from university. After three promotions Jim is now senior account manager, and has also spent two months on secondment in New York.

Jim says: ‘There’s a steep learning curve in healthcare PR – you need to be able to dissect complicated scientific and medical information and present it back to journalists in a concise way which is easy for them to take in and digest.

‘It is however very rewarding, providing a lot of opportunity to develop and hone your communications skills within a dynamic and rapidly changing environment.’

Companies Recruiting