5 Career Options in Pharmaceutical Industry

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Feb 26, 2024 12:43 PM IST

Pharmaceutical Industry is one of the most emerging and sought industries. The Pharmaceutical Industry jobs provide a wide variety of career opportunities in India. Pharmacy deals with the study areas such as medicinal chemistry, industrial pharmacy, drug safety, marketing, accounting, finance many more. It deals with health sciences, manufacturing, and preparing drugs. Its main focus is to make sure the use of the medicines safely. Let us now look at the highest paying jobs in the pharmaceutical industry in India.

5 Career Options in Pharmaceutical Industry

Before we look at the top pharma jobs, let us know in detail about Pharmaceutical Industry, its types, career options in pharmaceutical industry, their average salaries in India, job roles and responsibilities, skills, qualifications, specializations, and certifications.

What is the Pharmaceutical Industry?

Pharmaceutical Industry is a highly supervised or maintained industry as it is the most demanding industry all over the world. India is the largest provider of generic medicines globally and it ranks the third position in pharmaceutical products according to India Brand Equity Foundation. The study or the working areas involves marketing, accounting, and finance and a background in science or medicine helps to get a job in a pharma company.

Pharmacy Course Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree

The students can pursue a career in Pharmacy and have passed their 10+2 examination in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Biology. A minimum of 55% of the score is required to get admission to B.Pharma. This course duration is for 4 years. The students must write one of these entrance exams to obtain a bachelor’s degree UPSEE, GPAT, NEET, BITSAT, MHT-CET, TS EAMCET, AP EAMCET, BCECE, and WBJEE among others.

Master’s Degree

For a Master's degree candidates must have a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from a recognized university. A minimum of 50% of the score is required to be eligible for a Master of Pharmacy, M.Pharma. This course duration is for 2 years. The entrance exams for this course are GPAT, BITS HD, NIPER JEE, HPCET, OJEE, AP PGECET, TS PGECET, and TANCET among others.

Pharmacy specialization

Ayurveda
Quality Assurance
Pharmaceutics
Pharmacology
Clinical Pharmacy
Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmacognosy
Bio pharmaceutics
Drug Regulatory Affairs
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Drug Discovery and Drug Development
Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Assurance

Types of Careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The Pharmaceutical Industry includes various types of careers that are

Research and development	Production and manufacturing
Regulatory affairs	Operations
Validation	Sales and marketing
Quality assurance and control	Clinical trials
Medical science liaison	Pharmacologist
Scientist	Pharmacist
Medical Representative	-

Pharmaceutical industry jobs in India

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	Clinical Data Manager
Regulatory Specialist	Medical Writer
Biotechnology Consultant	Procurement
Research & Development Manager	Project Manager
Quality Control	Laboratory Analyst
Manufacturing and Quality Assurance	Drug Inspector

Pharmacy careers after graduation

Insurance Coder, Regulatory Manager
Health Centre Manager, Drug Dispenser
Pharmaceutical Marketing Representative
Drug Control Administrator, Hospital Manager
Drug Therapist, Customs Officer, Pharma Data Analyst
Trainer, Assistant Professor, Food and Drug Administrator
Drug Inspector, Hospital Drug Administrator, Medical Transcriptionist
Research Manager, Health Inspector, Chemical Analyst, Drug Technician

Top 5 career options in Pharmaceutical Industry

Let us now look at the top 5 career options in the pharmaceutical Industry and their average salaries in India, job roles and responsibilities, skills and qualifications.

1. Research & Development Manager

Research & Development Manager is a professional who is responsible for constantly researching content for medical and pharmaceutical science. He/she manages multiple projects. They manage customer complaints, prepare documents and SOPs, observe and form new innovative ideas, plan new revenues for the company, and check for the quality of in-process.

Research & Development Manager Salary

The Research and Development Manager's salary in India ranges between Rs 6.3 lakhs and Rs 24.0 lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 12.0 lakhs per annum.

Research & Development Manager Roles and Responsibilitie

Develop and maintains projects and budgets
Plans risk mitigation with other team members
Prepares updates, reports, and presentations
Build strategies to meet the project and regulatory needs
Collaborates with procurement officer and other team members
Monitors quality systems and manages non-clinical and CMC service providers

Research & Development Manager Skills

Problem-solving skills
Excellent communication and management skills
Must have commanding research and analytical skills

2. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative is a sales representative who is responsible for building relationships with clients and stakeholders. He/She will look for developing sales of the organizations. They influence the providers to prescribe the medication to patients.

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Salary

The Pharmaceutical Sales salary in India ranges between Rs 6.3 lakhs and Rs 24.0 lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 3.8 lakhs per annum.

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Roles and Responsibilities

Manages and reviews technical data and documentation
Analysis and research about the company's products
Keeps updated themselves with the trending industry information
Communicates with physicians about their organization's products
Prepares project updates, presents and reports to clients and stakeholders

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Skills

Prepares sales to track records
Must have scientific knowledge and MS office
Time Management, negotiation, and sales skills
Must have management, organizational and communication skills
Must have knowledge about databases, statics, product lines, medical issues

3. Laboratory Analyst

Laboratory Analyst is a professional who is also known as a lab technologist responsible for conducting experiments and lab tests. Analysis of the results and preparing the observations and report results. He/She collects samples and prepares solutions for sterilizing equipment and testing. Analyze chemical samples and maintain a new and existing inventory of supplies.

Laboratory Analyst Salary

The Laboratory Analyst's salary in India ranges between Rs 1.4 to 6.8 lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 3.8 lakhs per annum.

Laboratory Analyst Roles and Responsibilities

Maintains high standard safety in lab
Laboratory analysts manage lab equipment
Analyses and tests samples, specimens, and other things
Involves new testing methods to improve testing strategies
Analyse clinical trials' test and records the results
Prepares equipment for testing, sterilising equipment
Analysis chemical samples and collects data

Laboratory Analyst Skills

Must have work experience in scientific environment
Must have knowledge about the use of special equipment
Must have analytical skills and attention to details
Computer, management skills, and time management skills

4. Clinical Data Manager

Clinical Data Manager is a professional who is responsible for collecting data from various organizations or projects. Their work includes hospitals, private companies, and government organizations. They look after collecting the data, organizing it, and coordinating all these things. They design strategies and resolve problems with databases.

Clinical Data Manager Salary

A Clinical Data Manager's salary in India ranges between Rs 2.7 to 9.3 lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 5.0 lakhs per annum.

Clinical Data Manager Roles and Responsibilities

Solves databases problems
Trains other employees or staff
Develops data management plans
Designs and validates clinical databases
Collects data from medical research projects
Analysis trends and makes reports
Develops technical specifications for data management programs
Coordinates with clinical research and database analysts in clinical trial databases

Clinical Data Manager Skills

Must do data analysis
Must know record keeping skills
Ability to work flexible and adaptive
Must have computer and leadership skills
Must observe and solve the problem of databases
Must have time management and communication skills
Must have knowledge about drug development process

5. Medical Writer

Medical Writer is a professional responsible for creating or writing high-quality information and knowledgeable content on healthcare matters. Medical writers write in easy and understandable language to the common people avoiding scientific jargon.

Their work includes reading medical journals, researching trending posts and blogs, writing assignments, collaborating with sales and marketing members, attending conferences, and proofreading their works. Reading PPTs for MRs and doctors, brochures, and medical newsletters.