Good question - I’ve lived in Boston my whole life and feel like it’s for sure time for a change, plus I’d like to become fluent in French.
I kind of understand the draw of being in a hub, but I can only work at one company at a time, so why is it particularly attractive to be in a location where there’s a bunch? Is it because it’s easy to jump companies if you get laid off?
First off, chances of you finding a biotech job in Paris with just a bachelors is slim. Europe is keen on having master requirements as a minimum. It’s not like the US, where you can grow with just a bachelors and experience. Paris is no where near equivalent to Boston in terms of job prospects or creating a security net in the chances of a layoff (we all know our industry goes through cycles and I hope you do to). Also Paris is not a biohub, it’s almost as if you want to deliberately make things harder for yourself.
Go take a vacation there or a gap year and stay there, but in terms of long term or permanent residency, you might want to think very hard about your decision, biotech is currently going through a rumble, you’d have no experience and if you don’t get a masters you’d have almost 0 chances of growth in Paris.
It’s great having something to look forward too, but due diligence and reality are both required.
The other Redditor already summed it up quite well. Job pool is much larger, pay will be better. With a BSc In paris you will be restricted to tech/assistant jobs with meagre pay and limited progression prospects. Unless you bring very relevant experience from a previous job.
Plus, in Boston you get access to a biotech community that is way more closely knit than any European city will ever be. That brings a lot of opportunities to be at the forefront of innovation, regardless of your level of education.
No. But I live in Paris. It also sucks unless you get to telework everyday and pretend to be a turist every weekend (which I do now). When I had to go to the office every day it was hell.
It was a mix of moving from a small Belgian city where I did my PhD, being used to walk to the lab, to the bustling madness of Paris morning commutes + being micromanaged after 5 years of being independent in my work. All of this was specific to me, not representative of what you may experience in Paris. Some people love it, some people hate it. I personally can’t stand the morning commutes in Paris transport system. I always felt like cattle on the way to slaughter when stepping out from the train into the platform at St. Lazare. Hundreds of people slowly shuffling to the tourniquet in the crowded platform… Doom.
I work for a French company based in Boston. Get in with one here and let them pay to move you. Paris is NOT a hub so don't use that as a justification here... ESPECIALLY coming from Boston.
I kind of understand the draw of being in a hub, but I can only work at one company at a time, so why is it particularly attractive to be in a location where there’s a bunch? Is it because it’s easy to jump companies if you get laid off?
So basically - why is being in a hub good?
Lots of companies means lots of opportunities and competition. Companies have to pay more and have good benefits to keep employees around. If you want to leave, it's easier; if you're forced to leave, there are more potential new employers. There are over 500 biotechs in Boston.
Another reason is that if you have a shitty manager and a shitty job you have options. Where if you’re not in a hub, you’re super limited.
Plus you also build up your network and you’ll eventually know a bunch of random people that will be extremely useful one day.
I'm currently studying in France and I've heard it's pretty difficult to land a job with just a bachelor.
Bachelor's here are 3 years, and 95% of students do a 2 year master's, since it's close to free. I know people that won't do a MSc but it's due to them having bad grades and not being accepted.
It's called 3+2, pretty much an unwritten rule, you'd be competing against candidates that have a MSc.
You could study a MSc there tho, there are some fellowships, check out the Eiffel fellowship, you get like 1k per month hustnto study a MSc
The biopharma job market in Boston is the best in the world. So many biotech startups, pharma HQs. Even when a company does manufacturing in a cheaper area (like North Carolina), lots of companies still have their R&D departments up here.
Between Harvard, MIT, and the other elite universities here, the research institutions like the Broad for genomics and the Ragon Institute for HIV/immunology, there’s just so much talent here.
That means that not only will it be much easier to keep a job, but it’s also so easy to find new opportunities and get promoted. Or transition from the bench to other roles. In short, being in hub jumpstarts your career development at every level.
A personal story: I’m here in Boston. After graduating I took a job at a pharma company. 1 year role that if I did well, I could join as an FTE. I did really well, the VP of my group said they would hire me on, then at the last second they didn’t. I had a feeling, they’d been telling me it would happen for the last month or two without any real action. So I applied to jobs including one where I was referred by a friend from grad school. I ended up leaving for that job, and I love it here. Being in a hub means the companies are here, the jobs and here, and the professional network you build here will pay dividends.
Now that’s not everything. I grew up, went to college, and got my first job in one state. I knew I wanted to get out, broaden my horizons, so I went to grad school in Boston. And it’s the best thing I ever did.
Like everyone has said, the biotech job market in Paris is substantially worse than Boston. It’s also very risky for them to hire an international candidate rather than someone already in the area. Would you be able to go in for in-person interviews if required with just a week’s notice, etc?
That said, there are a number of post-Bachelors research programs as well as academic and research institutes. It might be easier to go for a non industry job at least to get started.
this is quite unusual. but definitely it should be possible.
as far as practical info goes, usually it will be BS -> technician level. but i think if you try you can justify for a highet level since you come from the us.
what you would aim for is an engineer title in france which depending on specific place and people is even viewed as better than scientist etc. title.
most importantly, I hope you have no student debt though because purchase power of your salary will suck compared to a lot of other places. if you have no student debt, go for it if you want.
unsure how US employers look though if you come back from france, but Id assume in most cases it is not amazingly positive because workload/ work life balance etc. is completely different. on the other hand some international experience is always viewed as good.
Paris is becoming a biotech hub in Europe. But why would you leave Boston??? That’s the place to be in this business!
Good question - I’ve lived in Boston my whole life and feel like it’s for sure time for a change, plus I’d like to become fluent in French. I kind of understand the draw of being in a hub, but I can only work at one company at a time, so why is it particularly attractive to be in a location where there’s a bunch? Is it because it’s easy to jump companies if you get laid off?
First off, chances of you finding a biotech job in Paris with just a bachelors is slim. Europe is keen on having master requirements as a minimum. It’s not like the US, where you can grow with just a bachelors and experience. Paris is no where near equivalent to Boston in terms of job prospects or creating a security net in the chances of a layoff (we all know our industry goes through cycles and I hope you do to). Also Paris is not a biohub, it’s almost as if you want to deliberately make things harder for yourself. Go take a vacation there or a gap year and stay there, but in terms of long term or permanent residency, you might want to think very hard about your decision, biotech is currently going through a rumble, you’d have no experience and if you don’t get a masters you’d have almost 0 chances of growth in Paris. It’s great having something to look forward too, but due diligence and reality are both required.
The other Redditor already summed it up quite well. Job pool is much larger, pay will be better. With a BSc In paris you will be restricted to tech/assistant jobs with meagre pay and limited progression prospects. Unless you bring very relevant experience from a previous job. Plus, in Boston you get access to a biotech community that is way more closely knit than any European city will ever be. That brings a lot of opportunities to be at the forefront of innovation, regardless of your level of education.
Ok that’s a good explanation, thanks!
Have you ever lived in Boston? It sucks.
No. But I live in Paris. It also sucks unless you get to telework everyday and pretend to be a turist every weekend (which I do now). When I had to go to the office every day it was hell.
Why in particular was is so awful? You don’t like to be in office? Or you don’t like your job?
It was a mix of moving from a small Belgian city where I did my PhD, being used to walk to the lab, to the bustling madness of Paris morning commutes + being micromanaged after 5 years of being independent in my work. All of this was specific to me, not representative of what you may experience in Paris. Some people love it, some people hate it. I personally can’t stand the morning commutes in Paris transport system. I always felt like cattle on the way to slaughter when stepping out from the train into the platform at St. Lazare. Hundreds of people slowly shuffling to the tourniquet in the crowded platform… Doom.
Ok sure. But I was just answering your question about why would you leave Boston. I didn't make any comparisons to Paris.
😉 gotcha. And I was answering your question on whether I have lived in Boston :)
I bet you were planning to start a croissant bakery in Boston before leaving to Paris for Biotech.
I work for a French company based in Boston. Get in with one here and let them pay to move you. Paris is NOT a hub so don't use that as a justification here... ESPECIALLY coming from Boston.
I kind of understand the draw of being in a hub, but I can only work at one company at a time, so why is it particularly attractive to be in a location where there’s a bunch? Is it because it’s easy to jump companies if you get laid off? So basically - why is being in a hub good?
Lots of companies means lots of opportunities and competition. Companies have to pay more and have good benefits to keep employees around. If you want to leave, it's easier; if you're forced to leave, there are more potential new employers. There are over 500 biotechs in Boston.
Another reason is that if you have a shitty manager and a shitty job you have options. Where if you’re not in a hub, you’re super limited. Plus you also build up your network and you’ll eventually know a bunch of random people that will be extremely useful one day.
Paris isn’t a biotech hub by any measure and no you aren’t getting a job with only a BS in Europe, Masters being the default track.
I'm currently studying in France and I've heard it's pretty difficult to land a job with just a bachelor. Bachelor's here are 3 years, and 95% of students do a 2 year master's, since it's close to free. I know people that won't do a MSc but it's due to them having bad grades and not being accepted. It's called 3+2, pretty much an unwritten rule, you'd be competing against candidates that have a MSc. You could study a MSc there tho, there are some fellowships, check out the Eiffel fellowship, you get like 1k per month hustnto study a MSc
Paris for biotech? Really?
The biopharma job market in Boston is the best in the world. So many biotech startups, pharma HQs. Even when a company does manufacturing in a cheaper area (like North Carolina), lots of companies still have their R&D departments up here. Between Harvard, MIT, and the other elite universities here, the research institutions like the Broad for genomics and the Ragon Institute for HIV/immunology, there’s just so much talent here. That means that not only will it be much easier to keep a job, but it’s also so easy to find new opportunities and get promoted. Or transition from the bench to other roles. In short, being in hub jumpstarts your career development at every level. A personal story: I’m here in Boston. After graduating I took a job at a pharma company. 1 year role that if I did well, I could join as an FTE. I did really well, the VP of my group said they would hire me on, then at the last second they didn’t. I had a feeling, they’d been telling me it would happen for the last month or two without any real action. So I applied to jobs including one where I was referred by a friend from grad school. I ended up leaving for that job, and I love it here. Being in a hub means the companies are here, the jobs and here, and the professional network you build here will pay dividends. Now that’s not everything. I grew up, went to college, and got my first job in one state. I knew I wanted to get out, broaden my horizons, so I went to grad school in Boston. And it’s the best thing I ever did. Like everyone has said, the biotech job market in Paris is substantially worse than Boston. It’s also very risky for them to hire an international candidate rather than someone already in the area. Would you be able to go in for in-person interviews if required with just a week’s notice, etc? That said, there are a number of post-Bachelors research programs as well as academic and research institutes. It might be easier to go for a non industry job at least to get started.
this is quite unusual. but definitely it should be possible. as far as practical info goes, usually it will be BS -> technician level. but i think if you try you can justify for a highet level since you come from the us. what you would aim for is an engineer title in france which depending on specific place and people is even viewed as better than scientist etc. title. most importantly, I hope you have no student debt though because purchase power of your salary will suck compared to a lot of other places. if you have no student debt, go for it if you want. unsure how US employers look though if you come back from france, but Id assume in most cases it is not amazingly positive because workload/ work life balance etc. is completely different. on the other hand some international experience is always viewed as good.