New Grad in the Pharmaceutical Industry

[KlausMikalson]

Hello everyone,,
As the title indicates I’m a recent graduate (B.S. Chemical Engineering) and I recently got a job in manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry. In my previous internship experience I was in the semiconductor industry. I know basics of bioreactors and the processes that are happening. However, a lot of the people I’m working with are more advanced than I am. Several of the other new hires that I started with all have their PhD. I’m wondering if any of you can provide some resources that can help me out. I’ve tried looking on google, but most of the things I’ve found are $200+ textbooks. I know just working in industry I’ll learn a lot, but I want to try and learn as much as I can so that I can keep up with my coworkers and the conversations that they have. Any resources or advice that you can provide is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[jari001]

Join ISPE, that will give you access to purchase readily applicable reference material.

 

[ashtree]

Find a mentor. The best person to teach you the ropes might not always be the ones you expect.
Read everything available.
There are probably internal manuals , procedures etc. Get to know them well.
Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open.
Keep a list of questions about stuff you have seen and heard. Do some homework on those questions on the list, before asking them. This will help frame your questions appropriately.
When you have the opportunity ask questions.
Write important stuff down.
Talk to people about what they are doing-doesn't matter who they are or what they do. It could be important.
Learn the language of the industry. Know what the acronyms mean.
Don't be afraid to offer to help somewhere or to ask for help when you need it.

Some of those that seem more advanced , just maybe more confident or can use the jargon. Does not mean they know anything.


Regards
Ashtree
"Any water can be made potable if you filter it through enough money"

 

[don1980]

Ashtree gave a very good list of suggestions. Adding to that list:
--Operational problems are extremely valuable opportunities to learn. Listen attentively to everything said during troubleshoots discussions. Understand the problem and understand the solution (why it worked).
--Problem solving experiences are the best learning opportunities. A process/plant that experiences a lot of problems, and difficult to run, is ideal for a young engineer.
--Read and understand the operational guidance document(s), and learn why each of these guidelines exist. Much of this stems from valuable past learning experience.
--Read incident reports and RCI (Root Cause Investigations) reports.
--Don't just memorize, always understand why.

Competence, confidence, and power all come from knowledge. There are no shortcuts, so start building your knowledge using all the resources available, and never miss an opportunity to learn something. Learning never stops, even after you've been at it for 30+ yrs.

 

[KlausMikalson]

Hello everyone,,
As the title indicates I’m a recent graduate (B.S. Chemical Engineering) and I recently got a job in manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry. In my previous internship experience I was in the semiconductor industry. I know basics of bioreactors and the processes that are happening. However, a lot of the people I’m working with are more advanced than I am. Several of the other new hires that I started with all have their PhD. I’m wondering if any of you can provide some resources that can help me out. I’ve tried looking on google, but most of the things I’ve found are $200+ textbooks. I know just working in industry I’ll learn a lot, but I want to try and learn as much as I can so that I can keep up with my coworkers and the conversations that they have. Any resources or advice that you can provide is greatly

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appreciated!!!


"Pharmaceutical industry" is way too vague - Like I have worked for a good decade now and I can't remember even seeing a bioreactor before, they're an integral part of PharmE, but not necessarily one you will work with.



Honestly, just read a bit about the specific site and company you work at, i.e. look at news reports and their site, and then read the Wikipedia/papers pages on the areas they cover to get a really superficial overview of what's going on - small molecule pilot site? Large scale compounding? etcetc.

 

[IRstuff]

I would suggest looking at current literature in

https://www.biorxiv.org/

or

https://www.medrxiv.org/

or similar to see what people are doing right now.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

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[TiCl4]

Does the plant have a PHA completed or a basic data report? Often plants will have a general description of the process, sometimes more detailed as in a basic data report for an area. Find any internal design documents you can, including P&IDs and Standard Operating Procedures. Read those documents and take those P&IDs into the field and walk the lines to get a better feel for the process. If you have more specific questions (what are the kinetics of the bio growths, why does this separator do X?), then ask whomever is the knowledgeable person in that area.

Publicly available information on generic bioreactor design may or may not be helpful, depending on how specialized/proprietary your process is.

 

[pierreick]

Hi,
Most probably your company is GMP certified , take advantage to read and understand the Quality manual/process description where all the steps should be well described . Consider also to review and understand all the incidents reports and mitigation.
Another good resource is the hazop study of your facility together with the safety/alarms report associated to DCS or PLC.
My view
Pierre