[biotechpv]

There is always a question which people in the Biotechnology sector are asked. Why did they choose this field? Most of them answer humanity and their hunger to save lives by curing diseases and do their bit to make lives for people easy and healthy.

Biotechnology is a growing industry in United States and other developed countries offering excellent pay and benefits. Many positions are available for people with a background in biological science with good laboratory and computer science skills.

Biotechnology, however, is no new science. It has been around for years right from the 1970’s when the recombinant DNA was discovered.

Although biotechnology industries make many different products from vaccines to seeds to specialized equipment, many of the job duties and titles are similar across the industry. To understand the different job functions, the jobs can be grouped into five areas:

1. Research and development (which includes research and development, laboratory support and technician jobs);
2. Manufacturing and services;
3. Quality and regulatory affairs;
4. Sales and technical support; and
5. Administration and management.

The lists of roles mentioned by you are a few but there are a lot more Biotechnology job roles. Jobs overlap and appear in more than one area since the same tasks may be needed in, for example, research and development or manufacturing.

One of the promising and happening jobs is in the Quality and Regulatory affairs sector. Some of the jobs include documentation coordinator, health and safety specialist and quality assurance specialist. The duties of this sector include equipment is calibrated properly and all equipment function right. Regulatory affairs employees ensure that all government regulations are followed, working closely with the research and development, manufacturing, quality control and quality assurance departments. They also keep records to prove that products are made exactly as approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Health and safety specialists work to ensure that the workplace is safe for all employees and all safety regulations are followed.

Every industry must have a marketing plan and the biotechnology sector is n exception. A technical support team is essential in order to answer customer questions and to troubleshoot any problems. Technical service representatives also help demonstrate, install and explain products to customers.

The biotechnology industry has experienced steady growth over the past decade, which is expected to continue. The increase in employment will mostly be in the area of bio‐pharmaceuticals, which is by far the largest sector of the biotechnology industry.
The growth of bio‐pharmaceuticals is driven by the high amount of research devoted to this sector. As much as 90% of the money invested in biotechnology research is in the pharmaceutical sector.

Overall, the number of biotech jobs is expected to increase between 2006 and 2016 at a rate that is faster than the average for all jobs, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people employed in the biotechnology industry continues to grow, as the existing companies hire more employees. Growth in US biotechnology company employment was about 6% between 2005 and 2006 to close to 200,000 employees.

To summarize we as Biotechnologists have a bright future and many opportunities waiting ahead for us.