D Labs

Grow In Industrial R&D Labs Author: Neeraja Sankaran At a time when increasing numbers of Ph.D. researchers are facing a shortage of job opportunities, some scientists are finding productive and fulfilling careers before they ever reach that level -- in the pharmaceutical industry. MASTER OF MANY TRADES: As a senior research assistant, Walter Darbonne works independently on research projects. Drug companies "provide a great opportunity for people who want to do research," even without a doct

Neeraja Sankaran

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Grow In Industrial R&D Labs Author: Neeraja Sankaran

At a time when increasing numbers of Ph.D. researchers are facing a shortage of job opportunities, some scientists are finding productive and fulfilling careers before they ever reach that level -- in the pharmaceutical industry.

Wlater Darbonne MASTER OF MANY TRADES: As a senior research assistant, Walter Darbonne works independently on research projects. Drug companies "provide a great opportunity for people who want to do research," even without a doctorate, attests Walter Darbonne, a senior research associate in immunology with Genentech Inc. in South San Francisco, Calif. Darbonne -- who joined the company in 1985, upon graduation with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from California Polytechnic State University -- maintains that at present "there are more jobs available" for those with bachelor's- or master's-level qualifications than for Ph.D.'s.

Scientists with bachelor's or master's degrees form an integral part of any major drug company, according ...

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