|
||
The pharmaceutical industry itself is a big part of this growth story. In addition to bringing out a steady stream of innovative products and equipment, the industry also gets these to the notice of healthcare professionals through their network of medical representatives.
We start our discussion of pharmaceutical jobs with a look at the medical representative.
The Medical Representative
The medical representative sells by educating doctors about the latest in treatment. Good medical representatives can save many hours of a doctor's time (spent otherwise for keeping up with developments in the field of treatment). This is an essential task as new medications with greater effectiveness are constantly being developed.
The representative explains to the doctor how the medications work, and how they are an improvement over existing treatments. The representative receives intensive training that equips the person with product knowledge and sales skills. They also accompany experienced representatives to learn effective practices.
Thereafter, they have to fix appointments with GPs, get to the GPs during the short time they are free, explain things clearly in the little time available and meet their targets regarding sales calls and sales.
The Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry - ABPI - conducts exams, and has also laid down a code of conduct. They act as the governing body of the industry and attend to complaints about false claims about medicines, and any malpractices or misbehavior on the part of representatives and others in the field.
Product Managers
A product manager is a marketing specialist who plans the marketing campaign for a product and keeps track of the campaign results. Product managers decide how to make convincing presentations with clinical evidence and other materials. They arrange to produce the sales literature for a product and continuously monitor the impact the literature, and the campaign in general, are producing.
Sales Managers
Sales managers, former medical representatives themselves, lead a team of medical representatives. It is their responsibility to train and motivate the representatives for maximum effectiveness.
Regulatory Affairs
The pharmaceutical industry is governed by numerous regulations. Their sales campaigns need to be approved - from permission to sell a drug for a particular use to what they can include in their sales literature. A great deal of procedures and processes are involved in getting needed approvals. Going after these formalities has become a full time role for persons with an eye for detail and familiarity with legalese.
Other Pharmaceutical Jobs
The emphasis above has been on sales related pharmaceutical jobs. Actually, pharmaceutical companies need pharmacists, clinical researchers, HR managers, and other technical and non-technical persons to run their operations.
Pharmaceutical companies spend heavy sums to discover new drugs, and then to conduct clinical trials in a phased manner till the drug is finally approved by the Federal Drug Administration for marketing.
People with required training and experience are needed to attend to all these operational aspects and many pharmaceutical jobs are available in non-sales areas. Both sales and non-sales people can expect good pay in the pharmaceutical industry.
The main skill perceived to be necessary is the ability to work at great heights. This is not really a skill at all. The steeplejack must be competent in the main building areas like carpentry, brick laying and tiling, but that is all. Really he is a Jack of all Trades who works while hanging from a sling.
Like other rope access jobs, it is seen as dangerous by those not employed in it, but with modern safety regulations it carries lower risks than ordinary building site jobs do. Most people just imagine themselves up there and think the person at the top of the tower must be very brave. Bravery does not come into it, though. There is no risk if harnesses and safety lines are in good condition and safety procedures followed.
A steeplejack will never climb up without a safety harness and safety equipment, so he or she can not fall. Roofing workers on building sites rarely bother with safety ropes, harnesses and equipment, so have many more accidents than steeplejacks.
A steeplejack will erect ladders and working platforms from which masonry repairs (brick, stone or concrete), general carpentry, painting or roof repair can be carried out. The steeplejack is also commonly asked to remove, clean and repair windows, as well as sandblasting and other masonry cleaning tasks.
Steeplejacks are difficult to find and any climber or any builder with a good head for heights should consider becoming a specialist steeplejack. Rates of pay are higher than normal building sector pay because of the high perceived risk that the job carries.
A steeplejack will never work on his own, for safety reasons, but contractors are usually small business operations. If you are struggling to find one then just search online, or in the Yellow Pages.