Prospects Of A Bioinformatician In Life Sciences Sales Job

Question

[Mal]

Hi I have a Master’s degree in Biotechnology, Post graduate diploma and PhD in Bioinformatics plus 1 year post doctoral research experience. At this point I’m eager to switch over from academia to companies/corporate involved with Bio business. My concerns are whether my previous degrees are sufficient to enter into sales related jobs in corporate or do I still need a business degree. What are career prospects for a bioinformatician in the Bio business sales?

All suggestions are appreciated.

Mal

[Michael]

I would think your PhD is very sufficient, but are you sure you want this? I mean all these years of academic education for a sales job?

Answer 1

[User 59]

Perhaps you might be interested in pre-sales or 'Field Application Scientist' jobs instead? These are less focused on the hard sell and more about getting the customers up to speed with technologies, installation, data analysis support etc. I have had some approaches about these types of job, especially because of my LinkedIn profile.

You would generally work with a sales team, but bring your expertise to the table - and working with the sales team would bring you exposure to that skill set in time.

[Mal]

Thanks Daniel for enlightening.The used keyword "Field application scientist" would give me a lead in searching jobs in desired area.