By Toby Freedman Considering Consulting? Find out what you need to do to start (and succeed at) your own consultancy. © Phil Marden / Getty Images After working for DuPont (which became DuPont Merck) for 17 years, Bill Schmidt decided to take his act on the road. The company elected to stop developing drug candidates for pain that Schmidt had been working on, based on the belief that no new drug could compete

Four high-paying, in-demand, industry jobs scientists often overlook, and tips on how to get in.

Regulatory affairs liaisons communicate directly with the FDA throughout the drug development process and manage the drug application filings. They play an important role in providing strategic regulatory advice for the company's drug development programs.

Preclinical is the step between discovery research and clinical trials. Because clinical trials are so expensive, preclinical research is an important step in selecting only those drug candidates that have the greatest chance of success. This work involves testing drug candidates in cell lines and in animal models to demonstrate efficacy and safety.

Project managers oversee and coordinate the efforts of multidisciplinary projects so teams complete their work in an efficient, timely, and focused manner. This involves leading and managing a team of accomplished people who don't report directly to you, orchestrating schedules, staying within budgets, and handling a variety of personalities.

In process development, you produce chemical or biological drug candidates at small scale for clinical trials, and develop synthesis and bioprocessing methods for scale-up into commercial manufacturing. It is a growing area that attracts chemists, microbiologists, biochemists, and molecular biologists.

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