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For anyone with a chronic condition, young kids or elderly parents, their local pharmacist is often a familiar face. But behind the medications a pharmacist prescribes is a career in growing demand: that of a pharmaceutical scientist.
While pharmacy is patient-focused, pharmaceutical sciences is focused on the science itself.
Dr Laurence Orlando from Monash University says students with a degree in pharmaceutical sciences have many diverse career opportunities.
“Pharmacists need to understand diseases in terms of medication, whereas scientists need to know about scientific equipment, chemistry, testing equipment, and statistical analysis … these are two very different careers,” says senior lecturer in pharmaceutical sciences at Monash University, Dr Laurence Orlando.
Scientists from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences were the first in Australia to use mRNA science to produce vaccine candidates for COVID-19. They are part of a sector that’s growing: Australia’s National Health and Medical Industry Growth Plan estimates that 28,000 new and highly skilled medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical jobs will be created by 2030.
While many pharmaceutical scientists graduate into jobs within the pharmaceutical industry – including in research or production of medications – others build a career in regulatory affairs, project management or even allied industries, developing projects like cosmetics, paints or food. All require good critical thinking skills, says Orlando.
“[The field suits] technical people who like to solve problems … The process of developing a product involves a lot of different skills. Everyone needs to be accountable for their field, so the whole puzzle fits together,” she says.
When Georgie Percival chose a pharmaceutical sciences degree, she initially imagined she would end up in vaccine development. But during university she learned the long development process involved, and started considering other options.
“[In vaccine development] it was unlikely that I would ever see the end of a project I worked on from beginning to end due to lengthy research, development and clinical trials time,” she says.
Then, a personal connection landed Percival a job as a cosmetic development chemist. She began creating men’s grooming products for Art of Packaging, a small family-owned business with its own manufacturing arm, a role that’s a long way from her earlier plans of finding a job in quality control for a large pharmaceutical or cosmetics company.