No matter what stage you’re entering in your professional career, the life science industry offers endless opportunities, job satisfaction, job security, competitive pay, and a very health work-life balance, making the switch a great career move you don’t want to miss out on.
Here are the top five reasons why you should come work in California’s life science industry:
1. Variety
Some of the most common careers in life sciences that you would have heard of include biochemists, clinical research associates, research assistants, and microbiologists. Other lesser-known, yet equally as important, career options include biomedical scientist, biotechnologist, computational biologist, industrial pharmacist, and bioinformatician. As a biomedical scientist, for example, you get to examine tissue samples and aide and advise medical doctors in diagnosing and treating their patients.
Most of the life science careers predominantly reside in the medical field; however, jobs like computational biologist can span across many other fields, including computer science and ecology, making it the Swiss army knife of life science careers.
Not sure if a career in the medical, agriculture, ecology, or computer science field is the right fit for you? Turn to biotechnology, biochemistry, computational biology, or microbiology.
The California life science industry crosses a vast array of fields, giving you plenty of diverse options when it comes to your work environment. The possibilities are endless!
2. Job Satisfaction
If you dream of making a difference in the world by developing a life-saving vaccine or medication, or maintaining the quality of foods to prevent widespread illnesses, or pushing society into the future with breakthroughs in technology, a career in life sciences would afford you all of these opportunities. As most Americans are starting to spend more time in the workplace than at home, it makes it much easier to get up and go to work every day with tangible impacts like these.
Having the ability to work on exciting and interesting projects also contributes to overall enthusiasm and satisfaction at work – and there is no shortage of these projects in the California life science ecosystem. The ability to help and support patients with innovative solutions, all while working for an employer who is progressive, on the cutting-edge, and constantly adapting to industry trends has led to very positive workforce satisfaction. People who feel like they are creating life-saving or extremely meaningful products and service, have a greater sense of fulfillment.
3. Job Security
The California life science industry is usually at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs in medicine, but they have also held crucial roles in other fields, such as agriculture and food protection, for hundreds of years. Because there’s always been a general need for the study of life science as they push and advance our society further every day, it creates new demands for innovative individuals to keep the momentum, lending a hand to a plethora of job security for those with a career in life science.
4. Competitive Pay
Many professionals want to be rewarded financially for their background, education, and previous work experience. While money isn’t everything, compensation is an area that is directly correlated to job satisfaction and overall happiness – who wouldn’t agree? California’s life science industry acknowledges the importance of this life-saving work, and offers competitive salaries, benefits, and incentives to be able to recruit the best candidates and retain their current employees long-term.
5. Work-Life Balance / Flexibility
Working adults have a life outside of their company, and the best employers understand that. Maintaining work-life balance with reasonable expectations on the job is another contributor to employee happiness. Having “permission to work remotely” as needed is an incentive that allows individuals to improve their time management skills and studies have shown that many people now view their work as being integrated with their life. In this regard, the unique advantage to the life science industry in California is that people are driven to work hard to improve the human condition, and are allowed the flexibility to get their work done on their own time that California has come to know and love.