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

Visualising the drug harm profile in Randomised Controlled Trials – A Consensus of UK trial researchers

The UKCRC CTU statisticians’ operations group in collaboration with Imperial College London are hosting a one-day consensus meeting to develop recommendations to support researchers in their choice of visualisations for adverse event data in RCT publications.

PSI Webinar: How can PSI, “a community dedicated to leading and promoting the use of statistics within the healthcare industries for the benefit of patients”, help you be more successful in your career?

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be successful as a statistician or data scientist in the healthcare/pharma industry and what can give you the extra edge to develop your career? Come and listen to these industry leaders views on how to be successful and the advantages of being part of the PSI community.

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 3 sessions in continental Europe and 3 - 4 sessions in the UK. It promises to be a truly memorable course.

A PSI Training Course - R for SAS Users

This course is aimed at Statisticians and Programmers experienced in SAS, but little or no experience with R. An Introduction to R studio and the R language, statistical graphics, programming statistical models, simulations and more…

PSI Toxicology SIG Workshop

PSI Toxicology SIG workshop – 24th and 25th November 2020 The Toxicology SIG provides a forum for statisticians working in regulatory/investigative toxicology, as well as most other pre-clinical areas, to discuss issues and interact with one another. This 1.5-day workshop will involve approximately 20 statisticians, focusing on discussions around “best practice” in the statistical analysis of various data types. The afternoon of Day 1 will include a 4.5 hour Bayesian training course focused towards applications in toxicology/pre-clinical, provided by Prof. Dr. Katja Ickstadt and is included in the workshop fee. The cost will be £270 including VAT per delegate, inclusive of food and one night’s accommodation (and the training course). The workshop is being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Heathrow. The agenda and topics that will be discussed are yet to be finalised, but please get in touch with gareth.thomas@covance.com if you have suggestions. Full details will be circulated in the coming weeks.

Latest Jobs

Principal / Senior Principal Biostatisticians (Phases II-IV & Statistical Analysis Research Centre)

Covance are currently recruiting for 3 Principal / Senior Principal Biostatisticians in two different departments.

Statistical Director for Health Technology Assessment in Biostatistics

Global pharma company Novo Nordisk are right now looking for a Statistical Director to drive the Health Technology Assessment agenda in the Biostatistical Centre of Expertise in their office just outside Copenhagen.

Statisticians and Statistical Programmers – Senior/Principal/Associate Director/Director - Oncology / Respiratory / CVRM – Early and Late Phase

Would you like to be a part of a Statistical and Programming group, who have direct strategic impact on drug development, playing a key role in getting medicines to patients?