Life sciences consulting is a broad career path that requires individuals to have specialized knowledge and valuable business acumen. When life science firms, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology startups, or any of a long list of other impressive organizations have specific questions or require precise insights, they often turn to consultants.
Getting started as a life science consultant may be easier than you think. In this article, we’ll walk through the ins and outs of what a career in life science consulting demands, so you can decide whether you’re interested in pursuing it as a path. We’ll cover the many benefits of practicing in the life science consulting space and, generally, what you’ll need to get started.
Lastly, we’ll show you where and how to start if you determine life science consulting is right for you. It all begins with your partnership with a specialized life science search firm, which can help match you with unique consulting opportunities and connect you to the firms that are looking for you.
Who Can Be A Life Science Consultant?
Life sciences consulting is open to individuals of all ages and all stages in their careers—from new graduates to retirees, and every stage in between. Who can be a life science consultant? The answer really is anyone who has the skills to work with clients and a background in a field related to:
- Life Sciences
- Medicine
- Healthcare
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Pharmaceuticals
- Biotechnology
- Bioengineering
Is Life Science Consulting Lucrative?
Whether you’re looking to make life science consulting your primary profession or a part-time job you explore in addition to your main role, life science consulting can be incredibly lucrative. Individuals in all stages of their careers build successful primary or secondary careers in life science consulting.
There is no earnings cap on life science consulting. For experts with highly technical and/or specialized knowledge, unique experiences, or advanced roles, earnings on a single project can reach 5 figures or higher. While every project that every consultant works on won’t be that lucrative, higher earnings generally come from making the correct match—and that means knowing where to look and how to position yourself and your experiences.
What do Life Science Consultants Do?
Consulting projects from client to client and from expert to expert. A common thread that unites almost all consulting projects is that clients want answers, and consultants can help give those to them (or at least help them arrive at the answers themselves). Within the life sciences industry, consultants may help clients in any of the following ways:
- Advise on business management and strategy
- Help perform market research
- Predict industry trends
- Provide insights on new developments within their industries
- Provide regulatory compliance insights
- Perform product and process development
- Help commercialize products and successfully bring them to market
- Analyze data and make tailored recommendations
- Identify opportunities for growth
- Evaluate scenarios and tackle complex problems
- Analyze patient outcomes
- Analyze the market access implications and cost-effectiveness of products
- Evaluate investments, including in new products or via merger or acquisition activity
- Communicate their expertise and proposed solutions in layman’s term
What is In-House Life Science Consulting?
While some consultants choose to take on consulting gigs ad hoc and work for multiple organizations, others choose to go “in-house.” Going “in-house” means that, as a consultant, you’ll work for one company at a time (typically) and serve an organization as an employee.
Generally, as an in-house consultant, you will earn a salary and benefits and may be subject to restrictive covenants, such as non-competition agreements, that could limit your ability to consult on projects with other organizations or complete any outside work. Depending on the consultant’s desires and the match between the company and the consultant, in-house opportunities can be just as rewarding, if not more rewarding, than gig or project-based consulting.
In-house life science consulting roles often provide competitive compensation in the mid to high $100,000s for early to mid-career consultants. These figures grow with experience, tenure, and technical focuses or specializations.
Why Should I Start Life Science Consulting?
Scientists, researchers, and innovators begin life science consulting for myriad reasons. The work-life balance of consulting is appealing to many, as consulting allows experts to book engagements at their own schedule and take on as much (or as little) work as they’d like to. For this reason, many individuals pursue life science consulting as a part-time job during their retirement or on breaks from full-time employment.
Many other life sciences experts choose paths in life sciences consulting in order to expand their horizons and range of impact. Life science consulting engagements offer individuals the ability to meaningfully collaborate with and contribute to a wide range of companies’ projects, gain exposure to new industries, broaden their skill sets, develop leadership skills, travel, network, and leave a lasting impact on the industry.
Cornerstone Search Group: Your Partner for Life Science Consulting Opportunities
Cornerstone Search Group is an experienced executive search consultant that is proud to connect its clients with its vast network of talented life science consultants. We pride ourselves on our ability to make lasting and meaningful connections that facilitate deep learning, cutting-edge product development, focused business growth, and endless innovation.
Cornerstone spends time getting to know our clients and consultants alike, pairing each client’s particular business needs with consultants who possess the knowledge that organizations need to stay competitive in the life sciences space. Then, we bring the perfect candidates to you.
Cornerstone is proud to serve the sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries, and has done so for over 20 years. We’re eager to connect you with opportunities across the globe. Start a conversation with us today to learn more about getting started in your career as a life science consultant.
