Has anyone else gotten completely burned out on biotech?

I’m fortunate enough to still have a job in this market, and I’ve been working in biotech for about a decade now. On paper, things are fine. The work is stable (enough), I’ve built a solid career (principal scientist), and I’ve worked on some genuinely meaningful programs.

That said, I find myself increasingly disconnected from the industry. I’m tired of the constant politics, shifting priorities, low morale, and endless reorganizations. I know politics exist in every field, but biotech seems to have a unique way of making people feel disposable. The compensation also doesn’t seem particularly competitive compared to many other STEM careers, especially considering the education, specialization, and instability involved.

Lately I’ve been wondering if I actually want to do this for the next 20-30 years. The science still interests me, but the industry itself doesn’t as much anymore.

For those who have left biotech, what did you transition into? Were you able to do it without going back for another degree? I’d be especially interested in hearing from people who moved into adjacent fields and found their quality of life, compensation, or overall job satisfaction improved.

Curious if I’m the only one feeling this way or if others are having the same thoughts.

5 years of postdoc. 63k. a decade of training if you count the phd, and i budget for groceries.

a guy from my cohort left academia 2 years ago. scientist II at a pharma. he makes 138. he told me this at a conference like it was nothing, like he wasnt detonating my entire worldview between poster sessions.

my PI keeps saying i need a few more papers to be competitive. competitive for jobs that pay half of what my friend makes right now. i pulled up the levels.fyi pages for two IO companies at 1am last night like some kind of salary goblin and scientist I roles, the JUNIOR title, are sitting at 125-135.

i updated my resume this morning. thats the post

This is a fairly under reported story and INAL so I will try to give the brief version.

Moderna stole some technology as part of their COVID-19 vaccine. Whether or not they stole it is really not up for debate; they already lost in court, and their appeals (e.g. obviousness claim) were largely denied.

However they are trying a different approach, which is kinda bonkers.

They are claiming they have government-contractor immunity.

They are referencing a statue which states something along the line, if a manufacturer makes something specifically for the government and steals a patent while doing it, you need to take it up with the government. The manufacturer isn't liable.

From what I can tell the common understand of this is that it's for military tech -- the US military stealing some patented technology for warfare. Trying to say it applies to drugs that are sold and administered to US citizens is a little absurd -- it implies any pharma company with a government contract to supply XYZ can steal whatever patents they want, and then pass the legal liability onto the government.

Just sharing cause I thought it was interesting.

I am wondering if anyone has advice on how to transition out of scientific research/biotech.

I have a PhD in genetics and have already done a postdoc. I was planning on transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry, but have been having a hard time landing a role. I’m located in the southeast US (but have been looking across the US), and I feel like not being located in a hub is a part of what’s hurting me in this job environment.

Has anyone had success (or know someone who has) marketing bioinformatic skills (R, bash, python, stats) in a CS or data analytics role? I feel like there are transferable skills and I would like to broaden my job search.

Any tips from someone who has done this before? What to highlight on your resume and what to leave off? Online courses to take?

Incoming senior @ university.

That’s it, that’s the post.

What is the hiring outlook for companies in August-October (especially compared to earlier quarters this year)?

Hi everyone,

I have a bit of a story and I want to get everyone’s input on it.

I’m job searching and I’ve been interviewing with a company for a long time now. I had an initial interview and then a panel interview (both online). Then, I was invited on-site for a full day of interviews as well as a presentation about my research in college. All the feedback I got at the on-site was super positive and I really like the company.

They asked for “professional or academic references” when I was leaving. I gave them 2 of my lab mates, but not my PI since they were out of the country and I wasn’t sure if they were reachable (I told the company this as well). Both my lab mates said they were contacted the following, but the company came back and asked for my PIs info (which I do understand). I gave it and waited until the next week.

The company scheduled a meeting for Friday of that week, however, someone else then came back and asked for 2-3 additional references. Specifically, people that oversaw me and could speak on my development. I reached out to some old managers from internships and a professor I had previously done research for. They then delayed the meeting we had scheduled “to allow the additional references to be contacted”.

After that, I reached out to my PI to see if they were back from traveling. They said they were and that the company had in fact contacted them. Which I thought was weird, especially the tone (my PI has been weird in the past, which my lab mates can attest to), but I don’t think they’d try to sabotage me.

The 2 additional references I gave told me they were contacted (to make 5 references at this point). Finally, the company contacted me to set another meeting up at the end of this week. But then, lo and behold, the person I was supposed to meet said they had an emergency and they had to postpone the meeting again to travel.

So like a month on from the on-site interview, I still haven’t gotten anything conclusive. I get that stuff comes up, but it’s just felt really intensive for an entry level job. I don’t think they are like interviewing other people and stalling because why schedule the meetings at all. I just want some closure and if they are going to reject me, why not just do it and be done with it. We are all adults here.

I am just tired and burnt out from the process and wanted to hear what anyone else thought.

I'm imagining a gofundme, but for biomedical research.

You write out your goals and what you intend to accomplish e.g. in vivo proof of concept.

I checked them out, it's a reference lab/diagnostic company with no experience in cooling technologies. But I double checked, it's the same company from the TV ad.

Hi folks,

I spoke about finishing my Bachelor's in 2019, taking a gap year as a scribe, and then being in medschool for over 1.5 years and it not working out. I got my Master's in Bioinformatics in Dec 2024. Since then.... no job. I am now pivoting to "standard" biology jobs I could have gotten with my bachelor's. When I was pre-med, I did mostly pre-med activities, so I don't have lab experience. I am applying to entry level roles and am really trying to make myself stand out by writing cover letter's for every position, stating what I like about the lab's research and how I would like to be a part of it.

Some research roles literally don't mention a lab or PI. They just say " the Research assistant will ( tasks)." How am I supposed to write a CL then? It makes me not want to apply, I feel like it's a ghost posting.

Anyone else?

Long story short, I interned at this lab while going to school as a QC. I graduated with a biotechnology degree a few weeks ago and they offered me a full time position as an automation engineer. I was told they are considering moving me over to a manufacturing associate with a high chance of being a manufacturing manager very soon as they think I’m a better fit than the current manager.

Should I trust this move? Any risks or things to look out for? Any inout is appreciated

Hi everyone! I'm a new PhD grad currently working as a postdoc to gain some more skills. I'm at a crossroads between continuing in academia (as a staff scientist, not a PI) or transitioning to industry.

I would appreciate it if people could share their thoughts and experiences on either! Particularly if you considered both, but ultimately chose one or the other.

If it makes any difference, my background is primarily in oncology, protein engineering, and molecular biology (mostly wet lab, very little computational experience).

How is Syneos Canada as company to work for? Interview for Reg consultant role next week.

Hi all,

I'm a recent graduate with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and I've recently gotten an interview for an entry level CQV engineer position. There is a technical assessment; however, coming from a BME background I'm a little worried as I do have knowledge of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics but the specifics of how a facility is setup and the specific machinery are foreign to me. I have some experience as a manufacturing technician but it's mainly been in drug product compounding. What are some areas which I should study to prepare for the technical part of the interview?

Soy de México egresado en biotecnología genomica por la UANL y quiero trabajar y vivir en Europa, tengo familiares en suecia, (primo) y otra en Dinamarca , ingles B2 por Cambridge y actualmente trabajo pero me da la sensación qué este pais no me llena.

Por donde puedo empezar? Me seria de mucha ayuda saber como ir por ese camino

I am about to graduate with a biomechanical engineering degree and am considering getting a masters. I have done a lot of research in bioinformatics and would do that but am not deeply passionate about it. My dream job would be to develop a biotech product at a startup. To achieve this goal would a masters in bioengineering, bioinformatics, or another adjacent field be of use or should I try and network and break into the startup scene right out of school?

hi, i'm honestly kinda stuck and looking for advice.

i recently graduated this may with a bachelors in biotech w/ a minor in computer science. i'm trying to look for entry-level positions to get my foot into biotech.

the thing is, a lot of these positions need 1 year of lab experience which i don't have outside of courses.

i struggled a lot with mental health so it was difficult to get myself into the headspace of prioritizing lab experience during undergrad through REUs, internships, etc. i also was told that i wasn't able to get an internship by multiple mentors because i would need 2 years min. of classes (i switched my major the summer before my junior year).

i really wanted to get an internship but i was told not to and i was constantly urged to graduate on time and now that i did, i'm feeling a bit regretful because of the lack of lab experience i have.

i plan on going to grad school in the future but i'd love to get lab experience before applying to a good research heavy grad school. currently, my plans are to move to north jersey and try to apply to some entry-level jobs.

i'm willing to take up any job as long as i can get the experience that i need. does anyone have any advice? what positions/roles should i be looking for? for reference, in the future, i hope to do something immunology related. for now, i don't really mind what my first job is as long as i can get transferable experience out of it.

thank you!

Does anyone here have thoughts to share about culture of med affairs at Genmab?

Im a recent graduate with a dual degree in Bioengineering and Microbiology. I haven’t had any job experience in science, as shown in my employment history. I haven’t been applying to QC Associate, Lab Technician, and other entry-positions as various employers in the broad Bay Area.

I am concerned about about my format and it potentially being flagged by AI-screening. Any recommendations in terms of information? What can I elaborate more on? General format suggestions?

Thank you for your time :)!

Post:
Hi everyone,
I’m a 5th-year medical student, turning 28 soon. Over the past few years I’ve realized that my real passion is computational biology, bioinformatics, and developing algorithms for biomedical research. My long-term goal is to work in academia or industry doing computational research rather than practicing clinical medicine.
I’m currently trying to decide between three possible paths:
MSc in Bioinformatics (under a Computer Science faculty). The downside is that I’d first need to complete about a year of complementary undergraduate CS coursework before officially starting the master’s.

MSc in Mathematical Biology (under a Life Sciences faculty). This wouldn’t require the extra year of coursework, so it’s a faster route. However, I’m wondering whether the degree title and training would carry the same weight for future PhD opportunities and industry positions compared to an MSc in Bioinformatics.

Finish my MD first, continue building my computational background independently (math, computer science, programming, machine learning, etc.), get involved in computational research along the way, and then apply directly to a PhD.

My end goal is to become an independent computational researcher working on biologically and medically relevant problems, ideally at the intersection of AI, algorithms, and biology.
I’d love to hear your thoughts:

Which path would you choose, and why?
Does the title of the MSc (“Bioinformatics” vs. “Mathematical Biology”) actually matter in the long run?

Would finishing the MD first and starting a PhD around age 31 put me at a disadvantage, or is that fairly common?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people working in computational biology, bioinformatics, AI for biology, academia, or biotech.