Working in pharma

[Ask Jeeves MD]

Wondering if anyone here works in pharma full time. I’m interested in what kind of roles radiologists can have. Also how did you transition from clinic to pharma.

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[SeisK]

Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging + pharma might be a thing with novel radiopharmaceutical design, testing, and characterization. This is a pretty booming field right now but the only one I know of in radiology as a whole.

With MRI you see people working on some new contrast agents but I think most of the stuff going on is in academic center labs, it’s still a little too new to be pushing into industry. It’s the same with non-nuclear molecular imaging stuff. Many exciting things still 20-30 years away being worked on in labs but very little in the direct pipeline to patient care where you stand to get a lot of industry money.

 

[2brads]

I know some pharma companies do internal reads of certain imaging used to track a disease (e.g. hand X-rays for a new RA drug, etc) that they want read in a specific way. Some of the academic places I trained at performed them. It was great because all we had to dictate was “This study was performed in accordance with X company’s protocol”. I have no idea how you find a job solely reading for pharma though.

 

[Dave1980]

Wondering if anyone here works in pharma full time. I’m interested in what kind of roles radiologists can have. Also how did you transition from clinic to pharma.

These do not exist. Also why would you do 4 years of med school and 6 years of training if your goal is pharma? Until you are top of the hierarchy you could never make as much as you do as a radiologist.

 

[SeisK]

These do not exist. Also why would you do 4 years of med school and 6 years of training if your goal is pharma? Until you are top of the hierarchy you could never make as much as you do as a radiologist.

Because some people are okay with breaking out of the list-crunching burnout-ridden field that is medicine if it means taking a 9-4, 5 days a week no calls no weekends no holidays for half the pay of a radiologist with a little bit more diversity with what you do on the job.

 

[2brads]

These jobs already exist outside of pharma.

 

[Dave1980]

Because some people are okay with breaking out of the list-crunching burnout-ridden field that is medicine if it means taking a 9-4, 5 days a week no calls no weekends no holidays for half the pay of a radiologist with a little bit more diversity with what you do on the job.

Actually most people are okay with that and those people don't become radiologists.

If this is where you are in life you made some really terrible career decisions.

 

[Kuratz]

If this is where you are in life you made some really terrible career decisions.

It’s entirely possible to go into this career with good intentions but not realize the reality of daily practice until many years and hundreds of thousands of dollars later.

 

[808s&heartbreak]

These do not exist. Also why would you do 4 years of med school and 6 years of training if your goal is pharma? Until you are top of the hierarchy you could never make as much as you do as a radiologist.

These definitely do exists. A few of the attendings at my institution went into pharma. The pay is not bad actually. Search "medical director" in glassdoor or linkedin. That's the starting rate for those going into pharma after residency.

 

[SeisK]

Actually most people are okay with that and those people don't become radiologists.

If this is where you are in life you made some really terrible career decisions.

I think you might be a tad bit melodramatic regarding this issue :/

 

[Vandalia]

Because some people are okay with breaking out of the list-crunching burnout-ridden field that is medicine if it means taking a 9-4, 5 days a week no calls no weekends no holidays for half the pay of a radiologist with a little bit more diversity with what you do on the job.

You have a very misguided view of jobs in the corporate world. Think more along the lines of 80-100 hours a week, and if the boss sends an email at 2am on Sunday you had better respond within the hour.

 

[2brads]

Just go to the va or academics. They have what you’re looking for.

 

[SeisK]

You have a very misguided view of jobs in the corporate world. Think more along the lines of 80-100 hours a week, and if the boss sends an email at 2am on Sunday you had better respond within the hour.

A whole bunch of melodrama in this thread. Please be realistic, and don’t generalize a small corner you’re familiar with to the umbrella overlying many broad disciplines. Like in medicine, not everyone in the pharmaceutical conglomerate works the same hours.

Sorry if you had a bad industry experience. Mine definitely don’t mirror yours, if you had any.

 

[Vandalia]

A whole bunch of melodrama in this thread. Please be realistic, and don’t generalize a small corner you’re familiar with to the umbrella overlying many broad disciplines. Like in medicine, not everyone in the pharmaceutical conglomerate works the same hours.

Sorry if you had a bad industry experience. Mine definitely don’t mirror yours, if you had any.

If you are earning anything close to a physicians salary, you are working those hours. Most particularly because there will be five people trying to steal your job. Sure you can earn $50K as a secretary working a 40 hour week, but that is not what is being talked about.

 

[Dave1980]

Sorry if you had a bad industry experience. Mine definitely don’t mirror yours, if you had any.

You were/are in pharma? Did you do a radiology residency?

 

[SeisK]

You were/are in pharma? Did you do a radiology residency?

I don’t work in pharma myself but work directly with several who do and am well aware of what their schedule and salary look like. In residency myself currently.

 

[Dave1980]

I don’t work in pharma myself but work directly with several who do and am well aware of what their schedule and salary look like. In residency myself currently.

So you also don't have any direct experience of pharma. Gotcha.

 

[SeisK]

So you also don't have any direct experience of pharma. Gotcha.

Something tells me even if I had, you’d have still clung to some other poorly reasoned argument.

 

[Dave1980]

Something tells me even if I had, you’d have still clung to some other poorly reasoned argument.

Finally we agree on something!