Tips pharma industry career path

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Hi,

I study Pharmaceutical Sciences in Portugal. in September, I’ll start the last year of my Msc. In may, I will do an internship in a community pharmacy in Canton Bern for 3 months. After the internship I will have to go back to Portugal, for a couple of months, the time necessary to defend my thesis and get the papers for my degree. I would love to have a career in the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland after having completed my studies.

My small work experience: 2 months as production supervisor at a drug manufacturing plant and 1 month as regulatory affairs associate at a lobby company for the pharmaceutical industry. I also work for 2 academic projects: on one as project manager assistant (from 02/2023 to 03/2026) and the other as project methodology manager (01/2023 to 11/2023).

I speak: English C1, French C2, Portuguese B2, German A2 ( on progress), Spanish B1.

I have a EU citizenship.

My questions are the following:

-when should I start looking for jobs? When I am doing my internship in Switzerland ( so several months before my availability)? Or after getting the papers of my degree?

-what do you think is the best strategy to get an entry level job? Candidate to job offers only or get in contact with some recruitment agencies ? Can I contact big companies like Novartis, Roche,... directly to see if their HR department could navigate me to job offers that seem adequate with my profile ?

-being open to live in any part of Switzerland (apart from Geneva), what address should I put on my CV? I have a relative in Biel that could host me during the time necessary to find a job at a definite location.

-what should I expect as a bare minimum salary for jobs in the Pharma industry, considering my degree and almost no experience ? Please give locations for your estimates, I know it can vary a lot based on that.

-what jobs seems to be the most accessible for my profile? Something related to regulatory affairs, project management, production supervision, or others?

Thanks in advance for your inputs

2

Welcome to the forum.

That may depend on which area you want to specialise in as some pharmacy related professions are regulated here.

https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/en/ho…ofessions.html

3
Hello Jobrn, welcome to the forum!

If you're considering applying for a job, it's best to start a few months before, as the recruitment process can be lengthy.

In your field, there are a few recruitment companies worth contacting. Your experience with them will largely depend on your contact person, but I can personally recommend Kelly, as their recruiters have been quite professional in my interactions.

If the job description includes a phone number for HR or the hiring manager, I highly recommend giving them a call to express your interest in the position. Proactivity is usually appreciated in such cases.

Also, if possible, you might want to mention the address of your relative in your CV.

The minimum salary for the job can vary based on several factors. One significant factor is the location; for instance, Basel sees a significant influx of German and French immigrants, and many people work there while commuting from neighboring countries. As a result, entry-level salaries may not be very competitive due to high demand. A realistic starting salary could be around 75-80k. However, don't be disheartened if they offer less, as some companies try to offer lower salaries, knowing that many people are eager to secure any job.

Having C2 level French is fantastic, as there are companies in this part of Switzerland that would value that skill. If you're interested in opportunities in the German-speaking part, I recommend achieving a B2/C1 level in German.

4
If you speak French I would consider Bristol Myers Squibb near Neuchatel. You can PM me, I can put you in touch with one of their talent acquisition leads.

5
Do pharma companies in Switzerland not offer graduate schemes on their websites? Surely that would be the best approach.

6
There aren't any real 'back doors'. The posts available are on the web sites. Apply now and good luck because there are a lot of applicants.

BTW most big pharmas have affiliate offices in Portugal with roles in marketing, regulatory, safety, medical affairs, trial management etc. You may have more chance with a local office to start with.

7
Not sure how that‘s a back door? Surely it‘s knocking on the front door.

Every industry I know of in the UK, the US, Germany and the ones I‘m familiar with in Switzerland have an annual graduate intake scheme that is pitched at exactly the profile of the OP. In fact at an MBA level I know that Novartis used to have a finance graduate scheme, as I interviewed for it.

Not sure why you‘d recommend the OP may have more chance in Portugal. If you’ve got the right to work here, big companies hoover up grads from anywhere. My last round of graduate hires had Swiss, Greek, Spanish, Italian (and probably more I can‘t think of). I hired a Spaniard.

8
Thank you to all the participants of the thread for your inputs.

I can't stay in Portugal for few reasons:

-income vs cost of living:

-income for beginner in pharma industry in Lisbon: 1,1k net x 14 months

-renting a decent studio in Lisbon: 700 + expenses per month

-food is obviously way cheaper than in CH, but though still difficult to end the month...

-my gf is Swiss and studies in Portugal also, she wants to go back after she finish her degree (same time as me)

if you are shocked by the salaries for an MSc in pharmaceutical sciences, it is the case for many other degrees, I have a friend that is a biomedical engineer. Her income while working for a start-up with 2 years of experience was 1,2k net x 14 months, now she works in logistic for a beverage company, a job that only require high school education and she make 1,5k x 14 months...

I have friends working as pharmacist in community pharmacies making 1K net x 14 months

I will try to get familiar with the graduate schemes as recommended by eyebeebe.

if securing a job in the pharma industry takes time, I am okay with working at a community pharmacy the time needed. I already have an offer from the pharmacy in which I will be doing my internship next year. I just need few weeks after obtaining the papers for my degree to have MEBEKO convert my degree into a Swiss equivalent allowing me to work in community pharmacies. no need for the conversion for entry level job in pharma industry

9
thank you, I sent you a PM