Is it worth moving to Boston for biotech?
Hey everyone, looking for advice from people who've been through this or know the Boston biotech market well.
I'm currently 3 years into a cancer bioinformatics postdoc in Australia. I'm at a point where I want to transition out of academia into industry at biotech or pharma companies. The problem is the Australian ecosystem is really small and opportunities are rare.
I just got back from a conference in Boston this week and honestly it kind of blew my mind in terms of talents and density of pharma. Being in this environment just a few days made me realise how much I'm missing by being in Australia. And now I am seriously considering a move to Boston.
I understand the visa sitution is complicated. i know the E3 exists which might be simpler than H1B for Australians, but I also suspect the realistic path might be doing a US postdoc with a J1 to first to get onshore. But I can’t help to wonder if this is a right move to go deeper in academia when i am trying to go the other direction.
So my questions are:
- Is Boston actually worth relocating to break into biotech industry roles? or is it heavily networked but hard to crack from the outside?
- For anyone who made the postdoc to industry transition in Boston, what actually worked? How long did it take you to transit? What do you wish you'd known going in?
Appreciate any honest advice