u/Legitimate-Net-6613

A few years ago, after my PhD, I joined a large biotech company in a fairly senior scientist-level role on the manufacturing/verification-validation side, mainly supporting IVD-related validation, documentation, compliance, and cross-functional QA/QC/R&D activities.
I was impacted during a large layoff/restructuring and have been out of industry since mid-2023. Since then I’ve been adjunct teaching at community colleges, but now I’m trying to move back into industry, mainly toward QA/regulatory/compliance/validation-type roles rather than research-heavy R&D.
I’m currently considering the ASQ CQE certification and trying to understand how realistic this transition would be.
For people working in QA/regulatory/compliance:
Does my previous validation/manufacturing background sound transferable to QA or regulatory roles?
Does ASQ CQE actually help in biotech/pharma hiring?
Are remote/hybrid QA or regulatory roles realistic, or are most positions fully onsite?
What roles/titles should I realistically target to re-enter industry after this gap?
Would really appreciate honest advice from people already working in these areas.

A few years ago, during the post-pandemic biotech hiring boom, I moved from academia into industry after my PhD and joined a large biotech company in a fairly senior scientist-level role. My work was mainly on the manufacturing/verification-validation side (IVD-related validation work, documentation, compliance, cross-functional support with QA/QC/R&D), not discovery research.

Unfortunately, I got impacted during a large restructuring/layoff after about 1.5 years. After that, I struggled to get back into industry in the Bay Area job market and eventually started adjunct teaching at community colleges. Over time, I got somewhat comfortable there and stopped aggressively applying to industry positions for a while.

Now I’m realizing adjunct teaching probably cannot be my long-term career path after a PhD, but I also feel stuck because i have been out of industry since mid-2023. Since my previous industry experience was more manufacturing/validation/compliance focused, I also don’t think I am very competitive anymore for heavily research-focused R&D roles.

Lately I have been thinking more seriously about moving into QA/regulatory/compliance/validation roles instead. I am considering doing the ASQ CQE certification and rebuilding my LinkedIn/networking from scratch.

For people working in biotech/pharma:
- Is QA/validation/regulatory a realistic path back into industry with my background?
- Does ASQ CQE actually help in hiring?
- How would you position adjunct teaching on LinkedIn/resume without looking disconnected from industry?
- If you were restarting from my position, what would your first steps be?

Would genuinely appreciate honest advice from people in the field.