Welcome to the Careers Homepage

Do you want a career that is exciting and varied? Do you want to make a real difference to the lives of people all over the world? How about using your mathematics or statistical knowledge to help develop and trial lifesaving medicines?

Then working as a statistician or programmer in medical research could be for you! Click on the links below to find out more…
To learn more about clinical trials and the basic statistical concepts involved, please visit our Schools/Education page.

Job Roles

Find out about different job roles: Role of a Medical Statistician, Role of a Statistical, Programmer, Job Requirements, Job Prospects, Perks of working in Medical Research

Student Placements

Placement and internship opportunities for students are available within medical research and are commonly advertised directly on company websites. For inspiration we have compiled a list below of companies who offer placement schemes.

PSI Careers Event

This event is aimed at students with an interest in the analysis of data within pharmaceuticals, healthcare and/or medical research.

Other Careers Events

A listing of careers events run by other organisations.

University Courses

To work as a medical statistician, most companies require at least an MSc in Statistics, or an MSc with a significant statistical component, or a relevant subject. To work as a statistical programmer, most companies require at least a BSc in Mathematics or Statistics or a relevant subject.  Exact educational requirements can vary by company, so we would always recommend checking the job description for each role to confirm what qualifications are required.

Free Student Membership

PSI membership is free to all students & teachers and is valid from January – December (renewal every January)

Career Progression

If you’ve already made the choice to work as a statistician or statistical programmer within medical research, then you might be wondering what career paths will be open to you in the future.

How to Find a Job

Finding a job in any industry is daunting, not just medical research. This page aims to take you through the process including general advice, what to expect when you apply, and current vacancies. To find out more about life as a medical statistician or programmer and what to expect in your career, please visit our Job Roles page or Career Progression page.

Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Industry

The scope of medical research is vast and is also a successful and growing professional environment. It rises to the varying challenges of the health care industry, not just research, development and manufacturing of new treatments and devices, but also improving the effectiveness of medicines in a broader way.

Statisticians and statistical programmers work on designing, analysing and interpreting clinical trials which are conducted to progress the research, development, manufacture and marketing of products for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

The medical research industry is made up of a wide range of companies - large and small, local, national and international, some with manufacturing and marketing facilities, others concentrating solely on research and development - as well as Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and specialised Clinical Trials Units (CTUs).

CROs frequently provide their research and development services to pharmaceutical companies and they often work in tandem with the manufacturing companies to achieve product approval from the regulatory authorities around the world. There are strong links between CROs and pharmaceutical companies and many within the industry work on cross-functional and cross-company teams that encompass both Pharmaceutical and CRO colleagues working in partnership with one another.

CTUs are also an essential component of medical research, by designing, conducting and analysing clinical trials, in order to determine whether a particular therapy warrants further investigation. They often work in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, academic partners and charity organisations.

Upcoming Events

PSI Webinar - Main statistical approaches for quantitative decision-making in drug development

We performed a survey among pharmaceutical companies, targeting people with different profiles (statisticians, non-statisticians and decision-makers) working at different stages of the clinical development (study level, development level or portfolio level).

A PSI ToxSIG webinar - Big Data, Data Science, AI and other buzzwords: What does the Data-Driven Hype mean for Pharmaceutical Analytics?

The last 15 years has seen a massive shift in the role of data and analytics, driven by the increased hype around big data, data science, machine learning and AI. This presents both challenges and opportunities for analytic teams. This webinar will strip back the hype to look at what these buzzwords really mean, and talk about the impact this is having on the role, remit and operating model of analytic teams in the life sciences industry.

PSI New Starters Half-Day Networking Event

An opportunity to meet statisticians from across the pharmaceutical industry in a relaxed and informal setting. An exciting program of events and a chance to work in small groups on a data analysis challenge. Lunch provided.

A PSI Training Course - Practical Approaches to Designing Adaptive Clinical Trials

This hands-on course will provide a deep dive into 4 software packages used to design adaptive clinical trials. The course will start by providing a general overview of adaptive designs, explaining the different type of adaptations possible and the benefits of each design. Following this, participants will be given the opportunity to have a go at designing trials in R (using RPACTS), EAST, FACTS, and nQuery.

PSI Training Course - Bayesian Practical Course using R and SAS

This practical training course will give a deep dive into performing Bayesian analyses in R and SAS. It is aimed at statisticians who need to be able to conduct Bayesian analyses as part of their day to day work. By the end of the course participants will be able to conduct their own analyses.

Medical Statistics Careers Event 2020

Our annual PSI Medical Statistics Careers Event, will be held at the De Montfort University in Leicester on Wednesday 4th March 2020.

Introduction To Industry Training Course 2020

The ITIT course will take 25 delegates new to the industry on a complete drug development experience from discovery to marketing. They will visit 6 companies from October 2020 to July 2021 to learn about 6 topics from experts in their field. The ITIT course will have 6 sessions in continental Europe and 3 - 4 sessions in the UK. It promises to be a truly memorable course.

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