Hello everyone! I have been considering a career in pharmaceutical sales and wanted to ask people in the field how they feel about it? What do you love about being a pharma sales rep? What do you not like so much? Any advice would definitely help! Thanks
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I find pharma sales to be a very rewarding job. I enjoy visiting offices and interacting with the nurses, doctors, and sometime patients. I get to meet a lot of interesting people which makes up for the moments alone. My con would be in regards to how difficult it can be to schedule and stay organized. Sometimes a client isn’t on time, or you hit a lot of traffic, or someone unexpectedly cancels on you. I find that my schedule is constantly changing. I recomend using tools to help you stay on track. I personally use Badger and find it meets all my needs but there are many other resources out there such as apps, planners, and maps that can work for you. I hope this helps!
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I was a drug rep for 5 years. I received some of the best sales & management training. You can get similar training in other industries. It may or may not be worth it to learn these sales methodologies and then use them to convince intelligent people to feed chemicals to their patients in order to suppress symptoms caused by poor nutrition. I wrote a book on some of the less than ethical sales tactics I implemented. Some things I could not share in the book. If you choose to embark in a drug sales rep role, expect your employer to expect you to do some of same. http://www.thepharmaceuticalmyth.com/
Best of luck.
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Hello! I would love to share my experience! I’ve been a pharma sales rep for close to 6 years. I think the aspect I enjoy most about my job is connecting with clients such as doctors and helping them better care for their patients by introducing them to other medications that may work best for their patients. I think the main con I have experienced is how lonely it can be at times, particularly when your on the road a a lot. However, the satisfaction I get from gaining a new client and helping them outweighs the negative. I have enjoyed my pharma sales journey and couldn’t be happier about my choice. Hope this helps!
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My biggest advice would be to recognize that it is a very competitive field, so you have to be ready. Find ways stand out and be prepared. Know your product and know your client. That being said you’ll come to find it is a very rewarding career path and if you put in the right amount of work you will move up.
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Hi all! Maybe you guys can help?
I am in my junior year of college and I’ve started thinking of careers I want to pursue. I think I would do really well as a pharmaceutical sales rep seeing how I am very much interested in science and new developments in the medical field. Could anyone explain to me the steps it takes to become a pharma sales rep? Or what I need to have to go into the field?
Hello @MandyS You’re already on the right track. The most important thing pharmaceutical companies look at is that you have a four-year degree. A major related to science or business would be best but not necessary, any major will do. The next step after that would be to get certified as a CNPR which is available through the National Association of Pharma Reps. After that, it’s up to you to network and land yourself a job. I would recommend getting as much experience as possible so you develop the skills you’ll need.
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