Job Responsibilities
I wrote Small Business Institutional Research (SBIR)grants for a
small biotechnology company, and I wrote scientific papers that
showcased the company's technology. Both of those activities
were somewhat sporadic - the months prior to the due date of the
grant were incredibly busy, and I spent 8 hours/day doing
literature search type research for the grant, or talking to the
scientists who were going to be the primary investigator for the
grant. When a paper was due, the time commitment was similar.
However, when those two deliverables were not due, I had to fill
my time, and I tried to be useful for the business development
department doing competitive analysis of our industry.
|
Job Requirements
The MBA program at the University of Maryland is very
applications-based. In addition to our core classes and
electives, there is a mandatory program in which students are
placed as consultants to various local companies based on the
student's interests. In addition, or in place of that program,
students help manage either a university-backed venture fund, or
a stock portfolio.
The classes are taught by professors who are vested in our
success and in our understanding of the material. The first year
is brutal (as in all schools), as all classes are 7 weeks long.
The second year, all electives are 15 weeks long, and the pace
is better.
All classes involve group deliverables (papers and
presentations), as well as individual deliverables (papers and
tests).
In general, I think this is an excellent education
|
Uppers
I like to take various pieces of information and put them together. As that
basically is what writing grants and papers is, this job is pretty ideal in many
ways.
|
Downers
I am very dependent on information from various sources, and
that can be annoying if it is difficult to get the information.
Also, my name does not go on the grants or papers, so the
scientists need to approve of the work because their name gets
put on the work.
|
Lifestyle
The job is great in terms of lifestyle. It's very flexible, I don't have to
travel, and I can structure my life around the deadlines, since they are not
constant.
|
Compensation
I was paid $65,000/yr. I had stock options that vested over 4
years. As this was a very small company, bonuses were rare.
|
Advice to Jobseekers
I think this is a good transitory job for people trying to go
from the research bench into more business-oriented positions.
This job is very hard to find in most biotech companies, and it
might be easier as a part-time job.
|
|
