Hi, my name is Lakshmi, career coach at Excel Career Services. An interesting journey brought me to my current role in the pharma industry. I am a pharmacist by training. After completing my pharmacy education in India,
I worked for a CRO for some time before moving to the US to pursue a master’s in
clinical research from Medical University of South Carolina after which I completed another Masters in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. I always wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry, however, even after having two master's
degrees relevant to clinical research, I had no idea how to successfully land a job in the pharmaceutical industry. Being on a visa actually made this process tougher.
After a lot of trial and error and limited resources to tell me what's right and what’s not, I got my first break as clinical research associate through a consulting
firm. Undoubtedly, it was one of the best experiences of my life. I understood the structure of pharma industry and the roles and responsibilities associated with every line function in pharma. This is where I realized that my skills are best suited for clinical development. However, transitioning from clinical operations to clinical development was not easy. I did not have the necessary skills to get into clinical development. All my attempts were unsuccessful but I kept trying.
After a few months, there was a company willing to give me a chance and hired me as a clinical scientist with the clinical operations experience I had. I made the transition while continuing to work through the consulting firm. I can clearly say that this was the best thing that happened to my career. There was a lot of learning to do. I had to understand the role and acquire new skills like data cleaning, document preparation and response evaluation. It took a few months, but I persisted and succeeded. But, the lack of work-life balance and compensation pay scale disparity led me to pursue direct employment with a pharmaceutical company. This was another difficult transition, but I made it work. Because I had all the necessary skills to work as a clinical scientist, visa sponsorship was no longer a hurdle. This is my fourth year as a clinical scientist. I work for a big pharma; I love my job and enjoy every bit of my work.
The one thing I sorely missed during the ups and downs in my career is a bit
of guidance that could have made the journey smoother and less painful. I was always looking for new resources to upgrade my skills. Unfortunately, there was nothing out there. I thought teaching key concepts and helping develop certain skills can be very useful to anyone looking to start or transition within the industry. This idea gave birth to Excel Career Services
At Excel Career Services, our goal is to give you an introduction to the pharmaceutical industry and different branches that exist within the pharmaceutical industry and help you acquire all the skills and qualifications required to succeed.
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