Biotechnology is a growing industry that always seems to need employees. Indeed, you could visit the Pharma Diversity job board (you can visit their website here)and find tons of biotech jobs all over the country. One of those jobs could eventually be yours. But to make that a reality, you need to start working on getting into the biotechnology field right from high school.
The typical biotech job pays well and offers decent job security. But to get from high school to your dream job, there are steps to follow. Commit yourself to the process and you will be on good footing when it is time to start applying for jobs.
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Be Deliberate About Your Education
Though there are some exceptions to the rule, nearly all biotech jobs require a college education. You will be ahead of other potential job candidates if you make the commitment to be deliberate about your education. In other words, the courses you need to eventually get into biotech should not be an afterthought. They should be your main focus.
You will absolutely need some training in biology. That is the big one for biotech. But after that, consider classes that are in line with what you are most interested in. Remember that the biotech industry is pretty varied in scope and practice.
University advisors are great resources for helping you figure out what classes to take. Sit down with an advisor and explain to them what your career goals are. Between the two of you, a deliberate educational plan of action can be developed.
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Be Deliberate About Making Connections
Throughout your educational career, you will have opportunities to make connections within the biotech field. Those opportunities will come through your classes, your volunteer activities, and any field work you might do. Take advantage of those opportunities.
Get to know the local movers and shakers in biotech. Start compiling a CV that demonstrates all the biotech experience you are gaining while in school. Take every effort to rub elbows with business leaders, recruiters, and even alumni who have already broken into the biotech field.
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Be Deliberate About Learning to Job Search
This last phase of preparing to break into the biotech sector, learning how to job search, rarely gets talked about. As a result, there is a terrible misunderstanding among young people about how to go about finding a job. They expect the jobs to be lined up and waiting for them at graduation.
That is not how it works. In fact, finding that first job can be a full-time job all by itself. And like anything else, there is a process. There are right and wrong ways to get your foot in the door for the purposes of landing that first job. Learn as much as you can about job searching before you actually begin.
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Everything Comes Together in Your Search
When it comes time for you to actually start searching for jobs, you are going to discover that everything else you did to prepare comes together in that moment. All your education and training will be the evidence that you qualify for the job you’re after. All your volunteer work and networking will provide the connections you need to find open jobs.
Your desire to break into the biotech industry is admirable. Biotech certainly needs as many qualified employees as they can get their hands on. If you hope to be one of those employees in the future, start preparing now. As soon as you graduate from high school, start doing those things necessary to plot a deliberate path to career success.
