It is no secret that the healthcare industry is in need of all sorts of workers. From doctors to nurses and technicians, there are not enough people to fill open positions. Truth be told, the situation isn’t unique to jobs involved in direct patient care. Big Pharma is impacted as well.
Pharmaceutical jobs are open all over the country. So are biotech jobs. Even tech companies responsible for designing and building the technology that makes big pharma work cannot find enough people. It is an amazing phenomenon given how well pharmaceutical and biotech jobs pay.
A Life-Changing Invention
To illustrate just how profound the pharmaceutical and biotech hiring woes are, consider a New Hampshire companyin the process of developing a life-changing invention. The company is known as Clairways. Its invention is an AI-based device that makes it possible to objectively track respiratory performance in real time.
The company believes their invention could help pharmaceutical developers in the pursuit of life-saving drugs. It will allow for monitoring respiratory function during clinical trials, providing important data researchers need to evaluate how their drugs are performing.
Clairways already has pharmaceutical company interest. They are poised to make a huge splash in big pharma technology. Unfortunately, they are having trouble hiring engineers. Apparently, there aren’t many qualified people willing to move to New Hampshire to work for Clairways.
The Jobs Are There
Across big Pharma and biotech, the jobs are there. You can see for yourself by scanning our pharmaceutical and biotech job boards. Some of the positions we list have been open for a significant amount of time. The longer they remain open, the less likely they will be filled by ideal candidates. So what’s going on?
It has been suggested that our system isn’t doing enough to promote the STEM principle. In other words, our high schools are not producing enough graduates with the necessary science, technology, and math skills required to gain college entrance in the pursuit of STEM careers.
If that’s true, we have to take a good, hard look at public education. Graduating students incapable of pursuing STEM careers through higher education is a problem. Colleges and universities cannot educate students who are not up to the task.
If the perceived STEM issue isn’t real, then there’s something else in play. There may be multiple things in play. Could part of the problem be the excessively high cost of a college education? Let’s face it, graduating with a four-year degree and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt isn’t ideal.
Job Seekers in the Driver’s Seat
If there is any good news in the talent shortage, it is that job seekers are now in the driver’s seat. Companies looking to fill their biotech and pharmaceutical jobs eventually get desperate enough to allow candidates to write their own tickets. That would seem like pretty strong motivation to a young person looking to get into a field with guaranteed career opportunities.
Even job seekers outside the U.S. have opportunities to come here to work. It’s arguably more difficult for them but considering all the benefits of a long-term pharma or biotech career, overcoming the hurdles appear well worth it. We could do better, as a country, by making it easier for them to come here to work.
If you are looking for an industry with built-in growth and plenty of career potential, consider big pharma or biotech. Both industries are desperate for qualified employees to bolster their ranks. A career in pharmaceuticals or biotech offers good pay and benefits along with an opportunity to do important work that benefits all of us.
______________________________________________________________________________
