Throughout September, Career Services is hosting a series of online chats with graduate alumni working in STEM fields. On September 22nd, we heard from a chemical sciences master’s graduate who is working as a specialist in the Global Vaccine Technical Operations at Merck. Below is a summary of her experiences and advice for current Penn graduate students.
How she began to think about a career in industry/how she explored the interest
- Longstanding interests in science and in medicine; but unsure whether she wanted to pursue clinical or research work
- Chose chemical sciences program as it allowed her to take the same coursework as PhD students and to explore interests; this helped her to decide not to pursue a PhD but left her unsure if she was more interested in research or medical school
- During her final year of graduate school, she applied to roles both in pharma and in consulting, and the interview process helped solidify an interest in pharma
How she applied/the structure of the application and interview process
- Found her initial role at Merck on Penn’s Handshake system – this was a contract scientist research & development role in manufacturing which did not require a PhD
- Starting as a contractor is a very common pathway into Merck – she enjoyed this path as it allowed her to explore her interests very easily – everyone knew it was a temporary role and she was able to freely explore other roles
- She applied through Handshake, as the contractor had been specifically been looking for someone from Penn
- 1 month after she applied, she had a phone screen with a recruiter, which was focused on behavioral questions
- This led to a day long on site interview at the Merck site in Virginia – this day was very intense and included several interviews with 2-3 senior scientists at a time and lunch with peers. Very technically-oriented questions
- Offer came a few weeks later – paid by the hour and with no benefits – she enjoyed being paid by the hour as the team was very busy and she was able to earn a lot of overtime
- After a few months as a contractor, she realized that she wanted to work for Merck full time and she was able to make a lot of connections through her supervisors and peers, who assisted her. She was technically treated as an external candidate but her applications moved quickly
- Eventually received 3 offers from 3 different groups in different cities – she was able to negotiate easily and accepted her top choice
Advice for interviewing/how and when to apply
- She started applying 9 months before graduation – this was likely too early and 6 months would have been better timing – the entire process takes longer than you think so be patient!
- She applied to 120 jobs total (Career Services note – this is A LOT!) – these led to 20 1st round interviews, 5-6 final round interviews, and 2 offers
- For consulting interviews, she did some practice cases with peers from PBG
- Reviewed her orgo and biochemistry textbooks to make sure she knew what kind of language to use
- Spend time reviewing your resume again, and to be able to talk about everything that you have on your resume
- She did not negotiate the contractor role – this was a mistake and she recommends all students negotiate – she was much more confident when she applied for full time job
- All interviewing is remote right now – this lacks personal contact and visual feedback
- You should ALWAYS turn your camera on, even if interviewers do not
- Dress professionally for virtual interviews – for one she needed to get up and move something, and was glad she was not wearing sweatpants
How she was involved as a student at Penn, and how this helped her
- Active member of Women in Chemistry – participated in their career sessions
- Joined the Penn Biotech Group Healthcare Consulting (https://pbgconsulting.org/PBGsite/), where she worked on a semester-long project; this solidified that she did not want to do consulting
- Volunteered at HUP – great experience overall
- Took opportunities to present her work whenever possible – this is invaluable in the interviewing process; really helped her to be able to talk about her research
Did she need specific skills?
- Her work is very bench based, so for this role, she did need specific skills
Transitioning from academia to industry
- Thought she needed the “perfect” role out of school – she learned through her contracting role that everyone comes from different backgrounds and lots of people make career changes – whatever you end up doing after graduation does not have to dictate the rest of your career
Future plans and hiring in the next few months
- She is starting a new role now, which will take her away from the bench somewhat – the new role is 100% remote, which is not typical for this type of work, so she will go back in person (maybe in 2021?) – but depending on the nature of the work, some people may work from home indefinitely
- She works in vaccines, and this is VERY busy right now – lots of hiring
- Had thought she might go on to medical school, but she is enjoying her work and shelved that plan for now
- She wants to be able to continue to “ride the line” between research and development