u/Various-Classic-4229

Not sure why it seems like every single Postdoc/Fellowship application requires 3 LORs each time on top of a cover letter, letter of intent, research statement and the list goes on and on (very unrealistic expectations).

Well, I have been gathering a list of U.S. Industry Postdocs/Fellowships that do not ask for such thing and at most just one LOR.
Feel free to suggest any in the comments. Thanks.

Edit 1: By LOR, I mean a letter of recommendation ( which is different from a letter of reference).

Edit 2: A list of Letter of 3 references are fine. Some programs will ask for 3 letter of recommendations only if you make it to the interview or if you get accepted into their fellowships and those are fine.

Edit 3: FYI: Many postdocs/fellowships from companies like Pfizer, Merck… do not ask for any LORs.

Hi. Does anyone know how much is the salary range for academic postdoc versus industry fellowship/postdoc in NJ/PA/NY/MA?
Hoping to graduate soon and apply for FTE, which I know is not guaranteed. So, a postdoc/fellowship will be my back up plan. Thank you for all your intel.

Advice on which biotech/biopharma role to aim first in industry

Thanks all in advance.

I am on the East Coast. I will be graduating this year with a doctorate degree from a major that is a combination of biological and health sciences. I have a M.S in biology. For my undergrad, I tutor math and chemistry for 3 years, and I did 3 summer undergraduate programs. My bachelor’s is in Biology with chemistry minor. For my grad studies, I have 2 years of teaching lab 🧪 experience, 1 year of research prior to my doctoral project, 5 years of mentoring experience, and 2-3 years of leadership experience on campus. For my industry experience, I have 15 months of experience as a co-op (bench scientist in drug discovery) in big biopharma and 4 months of leadership role as an intern (patient safety) in medium biotech. FYI: I have other experience not relevant to my academic and career paths. I have been studying Fulltime while simultaneously working. I do not want to stay in academia anymore.

I am thinking about applying to a couple of industry postdoc and many fulltime jobs positions in biotech/biopharma. I am still not sure if I should stay in R&D as a bench scientist or if I should pick a leadership role (regulatory and medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, HEOR , medical writing, science communication…) - I enjoy both equally. Which one is more stable? Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

For graduating students (December 2026 - May 2027) who don’t want to do any academic postdoc, what are some of the advices for them to get a FTE/PTE in the industry (biotech/biopharma) and/or an Industry postdoc? What do you wish you knew upon graduating? What did you do that worked out or didn’t work out? What could you have done differently? Bench science or non-bench science?

Anything we should be prepared for that they usually don’t tell students? USA - East Coast locations.

Thank you for your insights.