C&EN: TODAY'S HEADLINES - Biotech Employment

MELODY VOITH

At a time of surging unemployment, the biotechnology sector seems to be on a healthy trajectory. At least that was the hope of the many hundreds of job seekers who attended the Sunday afternoon Career Expo at BIO 2003, the Biotech Industry Organization's annual meeting. In a basement-level hotel ballroom in Washington, D.C., recruiters from more than 50 companies set up information booths to talk to prospective employees.

Overall, the largest number of job openings involved manufacturing, or R&D work to support manufacturing and scale-up processes. Job seekers looking for pure research opportunities, however, may find today's biotech job market a tough one.

Kathleen Fleming of Bayer was looking for applicants for drug discovery R&D, especially for locations in Berkeley, Calif., and Research Triangle Park, N.C. On the industrial side, the company is hiring in manufacturing, quality assurance, and process development. Fleming saw "lots of great applicants" at the Bayer booth.

Job seeker Lou Lieto waited in line to speak to representatives at the Chiron booth. Lieto is currently a molecular biology postdoctoral researcher at NIH hoping to get a job as an investigator in R&D. "I think the atmosphere is very positive in biotech. It's a hot field with lots of companies hiring now. Of course, there are also many qualified people looking for work, which makes for strong competition."

The Wyeth display drew a considerable crowd. "We've gotten heavy traffic today--many biochemists and molecular biologists. We're looking for senior-level employees with advanced degrees and work experience in vaccines and biopharmaceuticals," recruiter Stephen Mullen said. Wyeth advertised manufacturing job openings in Andover, Mass.; Sanford, N.C.; and Grange Castle, Ireland.

Over at the CuraGen booth, staffing specialist John Bau was looking for industrial chemists and chemical engineers for process scale-up and optimization for protein production and purification. "We're very pleased with the candidates we've met so far."

As biotech companies consolidate and mature, they are focusing on efficient product development (C&EN, June 23, page 12). Recruiters at BIO 2003 recommend that job seekers stay flexible and emphasize project management and problem-solving skills when applying for positions.