Advice for finding industry jobs (post-PhD) in Switzerland

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Hi everyone.

Does anyone have any advice for finding entry-level positions related to molecular biology, biochemistry or microbiology?

I have a PhD and 2 years of postdoc experience but no industry experience and it just seems impossible to get a foot into the door. I have been applying for over a year now and any advice would be greatly appreciated (I am non-EU but have an unrestricted B permit so that is not an issue).

PS A second postdoc is out of the question!

2

Have you tried the companies listed on these threads?

English speaking companies + Web Sites for job searchers in Switzerland

3
When I browse job.ch or jobup.ch, I feel that i see MANY job vacancies related to your field "molecular biology, biochemistry or microbiology".

You mean that you have been applying for these jobs for over a year, then did you have some interview chances? If yes, through the interview interactions you may also get some idea of what kind of people they are looking for and you can adjust yourself accordingly, I guess?

4
I have had 5 interviews so far but have been rejected every time because other candidates had industry experience. Not really anything I could adjust myself to.

An internship in industry would be nice but most companies only give internships to undergrads.

I agree there are a lot of positions advertised, but the problem is that there is no motivation for a company to take a risk and hire me when they have so many other candidates with 'real' work experience.

I don't think people in other job sectors realise how undervalued higher education in science really is these days!

5
True. But if it was always correctly valued, the salary would have to match, which makes some people unemployable. It's unfortunate. Good luck!

(And attend conferences, uni workshops, just like the old times - you need to network more)

6
Everyone always thinks PhD = Huge Salary but in reality we do not expect to be paid much to begin with because we have no 'real world' work experience.

The most unfortunate thing is that your taxes paid for me to be trained here for 7 years

7
I might be able to help, depending on what sort of job you are looking for. I am from Australia, did PhD in molecular biology followed by a short post doc and now work in medical communications. If that sounds of interest, I could give a little advice - feel free to send me a message. If you want to work more in clinical trials, or in a lab then I might not be able to help so much.

8
Not sure if you are working at the moment, but I have a few friends who have been in a similar situation (but with no postdoc experience). They ended up finding their industry jobs through RAV - basically they were set up with 6 month work placements (paid for by the RAV) and worked their butts off to prove their worth and were either offered jobs at the end of it, or used the experience to find positions with similar companies.

9
Were your friends non-EU as well?

10
I got into industry by switching to medical writing (was fed up with research) and am now a technical writer at senior scientist level. I could now, if I wanted and subject to interview of course, switch internally to product development.

11
I am doing something similar at the moment (although unfortunately I was not able to find a project in industry). It is called the BNF program www.bnf.ch .

It is a great program and I highly recommend it!

12
Hi. I had a look at the BNF program you mentioned. But to participate, one has to be already registered chomage at RAV, no?

13
Yes, unfortunately you need to be registered with- and recieving money from the chômage/RAV. This makes it a great help for unemployed PhDs (because you get chômage) but limits access to the program for other graduates (MSc etc)

14
Hi,

Could you please share your experience about BNF?

What was net out come of all struggle.

Regards nd best of luck.

15
I have two cases to share. Both are EU citizens on unlimited permits and on unemployment benefit, of course.

One had a fresh PhD from a swiss university. Got a permanent job by being inside the company, making a good impression and getting first look at all the internal vacancies. Job is significantly off the PhD subject, but that is nearly always true.

The second had two post-docs and now has a long temporary contract after two BNF-supported contracts. All in the same position. The problem is getting the company to create a permanent position. Since 2007, the financiers would rather let the company rot than invest in people.

I think this scheme is excellent for all concerned. Especially for the post-docs who can tick that box marked "industrial experience".