BGS Career Development

Making It Count!

Career: Consulting

The Penn Graduate Consulting Club (PGCC) – 6th Annual Case Competition

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The Penn Graduate Consulting Club (PGCC) is hosting its 6th annual case competition on Friday April 26th at Jon M. Huntsman Hall of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The case competition is a great opportunity to use your analytical skills to solve a business problem.

Applications are now open. You must apply as a team with 3-5 members. If you do not have a full team, you may list your information in this sheet and search for other team members. Once you have successfully formed a team, use the application link to apply.

The deadline for applications is Sunday April 14th 11:59 PM EST. For more information on the case competition, please see the PGCC website, and to stay up to date on PGCC events, please subscribe to their mailing list.

Nature: “Why earning a PhD is an advantage in today’s industry job market”

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In this Nature article, one scientist describes the panic he felt when, during his fourth year of graduate studies, he was told his PhD could pose a liability to pursuing an industry career. Partially because of declining opportunities for full professorship in academia, he had decided to pursue a career in industry only to be told that hiring managers perceive PhDs as overqualified and too independent.

The author describes the steps he took to actively combat misperceptions that might arise when submitting a CV alone – he supplemented online applications with networking events and informational interviews. Ultimately, the author credits the problem-solving skills he gained in graduate school with the positions he holds today – consultant to Fortune 500 companies and manager of three biotechnology startups.

Read more here.

Clarion Consultancy: PROPEL 2019

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Clarion, a Boston-based life sciences strategy consulting firm, will hold its 2019 leadership training program for current advanced degree candidates on Wednesday, June 12th – Friday, June 14th, 2019.

PROPEL is a 3-day summer program to give an insight into life science strategy consulting with Clarion.

It is open to the following candidates:

  • PhD candidates (completing program in Spring 2020)
  • Post-doctoral researchers
  • MD candidates (completing program in Spring 2020)
  • MD residents and fellows

Candidates must have expertise in disciplines related to life sciences, medicine, or other areas of quantitative research. To apply for the program and for more information, please see the attached flyer or visit the PROPEL website.

The application deadline is Sunday, March 31st, 2019 at 11:59 PM ET

PGWISE Female Leadership Career Panel

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Please join Penn Graduate Women in Science & Engineering (PGWISE), Wharton Healthcare Club, and Wharton Women in Business (WWIB) at a panel discussion exploring leadership and careers in healthcare and biomedical sciences. Students from PGWISE and the Wharton Healthcare Club will moderate a discussion with:

HEATHER STEINMAN, PHD, MBA
The Executive Director of Technology Transfer and the VP of
Business Development at the Wistar Institute

DORA MITCHELL, PHD
The Vice President of Operations at Carisma Therapeutics

LINDA MILLER, PHD
Senior Director of Strategic Planning at CHOP; former Engagement
Manager at McKinsey

When: February 19th, 2019 at 4:30 – 6:00 PM
Where: The Wistar Institute Caplan Auditorium

Please RSVP here!

Age 21+ Reception Prior to Panel Discussion (starting at 4:00 PM in the Wistar atrium)!

PBG Spring 2019 Kickoff

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Interested in gaining real life consulting experience? Want to learn more about consulting and the healthcare industry?

When: Thursday, February 7th at 5:30 pm
Where: The Wharton School, Jon M. Huntsman Hall, (Room TBA)

Join Penn Biotech Group Healthcare Consulting at the Spring Kickoff for:
–An overview of PBG, including what we do and how to apply for projects!
–Come grab food and then drinks at our kickoff happy hour at Landmark Americana (3333 Market St).
–Come network with fellow PBG members and learn about opportunities at Herspiegel Consulting (Pharmaceutical & Biotech Consulting firm). The info session will be about what they do and the type of applicants they are looking for.
–For more information about PBG, visit our website at pbgconsulting.org
–No business/consulting experience necessary! We hope to see you there. Spread the word.

If you cannot make it to the kickoff, please sign up for our email list at
tinyurl.com/PBGnews and we’ll be sure to include you in communications going forward about signing up for project teams.

Become a PBG member: tinyurl.com/PBGmember.

Science: “Like virtual reality for careers: A new online resource helps scientists explore job options”

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ISTOCK.COM/SORBETTO

This article in Science describes the career exploration path of Shengpei Wang—a fifth year Ph.D. student at Syracuse University in New York. While considering a move toward a career in data analytics, Shengpei found herself unsure of whether she was capable of the career switch. She visited her university’s career support center, where she learned of a set of online “job simulations.”

The author describes how the simulations helped Shengpei and other scientists at various points in their careers to explore various industries before making a decision. Each simulation takes about 4 to 8 hours, considerably less time than is required to explore potential careers through training, internships, or interviews. Topics include business, clinical trials, science communication, regulatory affairs, and more.

Read more here.