The pharmaceutical industry is responsible for bringing in new drugs for the treatment of diseases. For this, it largely depends on clinical studies and trials conducted by clinical research teams that include research associates and other professionals.

A lot has been said and written about  job opportunities in healthcare; specifically in clinical research. While knowing this is good, it is not enough.

If you are currently looking for a job, or are in your final graduation year, chances are you are already scouring the market for suitable jobs for you. But where do you look? How do you conduct your job search?

Terms like “Analytics” and “Data Science” have become buzz-words these days. Everyone wants to know about the next big trend in data, as well as how they can get involved – and who can blame them? Earlier this year Glassdoor published an article highlighting the 50 Best Jobs in America,  according to the job openings that it sees. Data Science was on the top of the list. Also on that list were titles including Analytics Manager, Data Analyst, Data Engineer, and Business Analyst. So, clearly jobs dealing with data are in high-demand.

If you're looking for a job in clinical research field and just starting out, you've surely considered training. One google search on 'training in clinical research' yields many links of institutes offering clinical research training. Everyone wants your attention - from mom and pop training institutes to reputed universities to credible industry associations - and all are offering great options to pursue training in clinical research, which can serve as stepping stone to your desired role in clinical research. 

Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) are responsible for engaging with the medical community and serve as a scientific resource to educate and advise on upcoming advances in pharmaceutical treatments. They fill an important role of scientific expertise and are required advanced scientific and academic training.

With all the hype around data science, data analytics and big data dominating the industry-trends in coming years, technology chops are becoming critical for success in any career.  For job seekers who are just entering the job market, one skill important to get on your resume is SAS. 

SAS (previously 'Statistical Analysis System') is the most widely used platform for statistical analysis across multiple industries and most notably in pharmaceuticals and finance. Ninety percent of the Fortune 500 use the SAS suite of software, so there’s an inherent opportunity for careers in big companies.  In fact, a wide majority of corporate IT departments rely heavily on SAS for data mining, and data analysis. SAS programmers design and test software to make it function properly.  In the biopharmaceutical industry, biostatistics and Clinical SAS analytics play an essential role in development of drugs, diagnostics and medical devices. 

If you're  considering a training in Clinical SAS Analytics, here are four amazing (anything that talks about a promising future got to be amazing, right?) - facts you need to know about the career prospects:

If you are a PhD reading this blog post,  congratulations! Completing the course of study, the pedagogy, the thesis and dissertation – all that it takes to earn a PhD is truly worth acknowledgment. 

If you're in academia, teaching or in research, and exploring career options, today there are many options  where you can use your extensive research background, especially if you're a science graduate.  All your skills and years of clinical experience offers tremendous competitive edge in some careers, and are easily transferable. One such career is Medical Science Liaison (MSL), ranked among the Top 10 Careers Alternative Careers for PhD Science graduates.

The global impact of data across academia and industry has given rise to multi-disciplinary professionals eager to gain necessary skills to make data-backed decisions. For healthcare and clinical research fields, the need for statistical and computational resources is even greater.  No wonder then, that careers in clinical biostatistics and SAS programming are expected to grow by 20%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It's that time of the year again. A lot of foreign medical graduates, who aspire to settle in the United States, learn that they haven't  been matched to their applied residency programs.  If you are one of them, you may be disheartened, frustrated or lost about what to do next. It has taken a lot for you to get till here, and now you didn't get into a residency program - what do you do? 

And so, we write this post to give you a fresh perspective and hopefully, a renewed  motivation. We believe you can use this as a stepping stone to something better, something more lucrative and perhaps even more satisfying.

Here are three reasons why we believe you should rejoice that you aren't in any residency program right now: