The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) held an informational meeting at Rutgers University on October 10th. This meeting allowed students and postdocs to learn about career opportunities in industry and network with AAPS members working in the area.
AAPS is a professional, scientific association of approximately 11,000 pharmaceutical scientists employed in industry, academia, government, and other research institutes worldwide, who are dedicated to the discovery and development of products and therapies through advances in science and technology. It provides a dynamic international forum for the exchange of knowledge among scientists to enhance their contributions to health. To accomplish these goals, they offer scientific programs, ongoing education opportunities for networking, and professional development to its members. In addition, they provide a variety of programs to students and faculty at university campuses: industry tours, mentoring events, networking and professional development, student chapters, awards and travelships, program funding, student representatives on section and committees, complementary memberships, K-12 outreach, eLearning courses and seminars, annual meetings, and an online career center. All in all, they cover a MAJORITY of activities students can take advantage of to advance their careers!
Within AAPS are section groups, which focus on specific aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. These sections serve the purpose of organizing individuals based on their expertise.
The event at Rutgers was primarily geared towards educating attendees of the breadth of expertise within AAPS and the opportunities students can take advantage of in joining AAPS. I had the opportunity to network with two individuals, one in the Manufacturing Science and Engineering section and one in the Biotechnology section. During most networking events, I am always interested in asking how a particular individual got their current position. And many times, they tell me that it was a rather windy path as opposed to straight line. Many of the opportunities that came their way were through a network they had built over time. One of the individuals was a Rutgers Molecular Biosciences graduate and Rutgers post-doc, who in a round about way, ended up at her current position. It was great to see our alumni doing well in leadership positions in industry. She offered a key piece of advice about simply meeting people informally through such events and putting your name out there. Most importantly, AAPS is a great venue for such networking events; therefore, attending this particular event was great just to bounce off career development ideas with folks in industry. We are all aware of scientific associations related to our research. Similarly, AAPS offers the same benefits of a scientific association in a professional, industry setting.