{"id":13497,"date":"2024-09-26T14:24:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T14:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/?page_id=13497"},"modified":"2024-10-03T09:52:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T09:52:44","slug":"appl-sci-product-man","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/info-resources\/exploration\/appl-sci-product-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Career area: Technical support, application science, product management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"vf-grid | vf-grid__col-3\"><div class=\"vf-grid__col--span-2\"><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A &#8216;sales, marketing, product support&#8217; career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a wide range of companies that develop and sell instrumentation, reagents and other related products or services in the life science field. In addition to R&amp;D roles developing these products, there are roles where scientists use their in-depth knowledge of particular technologies and scientific tools to provide expert technical support and training to customers and other stakeholders; or develop overarching strategies for product portfolios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"vf-tabs\"><ul class=\"vf-tabs__list\" data-vf-js-tabs=\"true\"><li class=\"vf-tabs__item\"><a class=\"vf-tabs__link\" href=\"#vf-tabs__section-ad9d22e7-f2ff-4f69-8d17-6906474a25b3\" data-vf-js-location-nearest-activation-target=\"\">Roles and responsibilities<\/a><\/li><li class=\"vf-tabs__item\"><a class=\"vf-tabs__link\" href=\"#vf-tabs__section-0e516856-67d5-40f7-8a48-9fb56f3d4d9c\" data-vf-js-location-nearest-activation-target=\"\">Career entry and progression<\/a><\/li><li class=\"vf-tabs__item\"><a class=\"vf-tabs__link\" href=\"#vf-tabs__section-2b831503-f499-4f03-ae98-402b00c99e2e\" data-vf-js-location-nearest-activation-target=\"\">Knowledge and skills<\/a><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"vf-tabs-content\" data-vf-js-tabs-content=\"true\">\n<section class=\"vf-tabs__section\" id=\"vf-tabs__section-ad9d22e7-f2ff-4f69-8d17-6906474a25b3\"><h2>Roles and responsibilities<\/h2>\n<p>Possible tasks may include a subset of the following activities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Technical support:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>dealing with initial technical enquiries from customers \u2013identifying, understanding and solving technical issues with the product\/instrumentation; this may involve direct interaction with the user via phone, or (for field-roles) in-person visits to their lab.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>providing technical advice for, or directly supporting, installation of new equipment at customer sites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Applications scientist\/product specialist:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>providing training to end-users on the technology, performing product demos at customers\/conferences, exhibitions etc; advising\/supporting installation of new instrumentation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>providing support and training to sales and marketing teams \u2013 for example, advising them on product capabilities and potential customers needs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>gaining market information on how products are being used to report back to the company and inform sales, as well as development\/updates to products.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>dealing with technical enquiries from customers \u2013 identifying\/understanding and solving technical issues with the product\/instrumentation on site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>testing the application of products to specific scientific areas and ensuring that the product is optimised. This may also involve developing specific protocols in collaboration with the product development team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>roles are often field-based, and entry-level roles usually involve a large amount of travel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Product management:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>developing the overall strategy for a specific product portfolio and coordinating different aspects of the product pipeline: from providing R&amp;D teams input on market gaps and direction,\u00a0 providing support to marketing to steer the launch of new products, to deciding on pricing structures and ensuring product support is in-place etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>monitoring the market for new competition, reporting on product performance etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"vf-tabs__section\" id=\"vf-tabs__section-0e516856-67d5-40f7-8a48-9fb56f3d4d9c\"><h2>Career entry and progression<\/h2>\n<p>For applications scientist\/product specialist roles, it is possible to enter these roles directly from a PhD or postdoc. Often the entry-level position will be a field-based role that requires frequent travel. From this role, is normally possible to gain more responsibilities (e.g. an expanded portfolio of products or managing a team working in a region), which may allow a reduction in travel time. It is also possible to move into other corporate functions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Product management can be an entry-level role in some companies, while others prefer candidates with some commercial experience (e.g. first experience in a R&amp;D, sales or application role).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example job titles<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0Specialist for \u2026. products\/Product specialist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(Field) application scientist\/specialist (FAS\/AS)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Customer support advisor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Technical project lead<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Technical application manager<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Application support scientist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Solutions scientist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Product manager<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Service engineer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"vf-tabs__section\" id=\"vf-tabs__section-2b831503-f499-4f03-ae98-402b00c99e2e\"><h2>Knowledge and skills<\/h2>\n<p>In our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/blog\/2022\/03\/skills-for-a-scientific-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">careers and skills survey<\/a>, 8 scientists working in technical support, application science and product management told us the competencies they use most in their daily work\u00a0 The most frequently selected competencies were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>effective communication (selected by 88% of respondents)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>team work (selected\u00a0by 75%)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>self management\u00a0 (selected\u00a0by 75%)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>deep knowledge of a specific technique\/technology (selected\u00a0by 63%)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>resilient problem solving (selected by 50%; and often ranked as the most important factors for success, for those respondents)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Language requirements<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Language requirements for these roles vary depending on the working language of the company\u2019s client base and therefore depend a lot on the exact role. As application scientists mainly interact with other scientists (in academic and industry labs \u2013 and within the company), it may be feasible to find positions in this career area that only require English. Nevertheless, in countries where English is not the main language, having at least some knowledge of the local language can be a requirement or preferred qualification, particularly if the product has clinical applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"\"><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<figure class=\"vf-figure wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" class=\"vf-figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/TREC-Naples-4-2024-176-m.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/TREC-Naples-4-2024-176-m.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/TREC-Naples-4-2024-176-m-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/TREC-Naples-4-2024-176-m-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<article class=\"vf-card vf-card--brand vf-card--bordered vf-u-margin__bottom--800\" default>\n  \n  <div class=\"vf-card__content | vf-stack vf-stack--400\">\n          <h3 class=\"vf-card__heading\">\n        \n        What do people value about this career?\n              <\/h3>\n    \n    \n          <p class=\"vf-card__text\"><!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\nIn our<a class=\"vf-card_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/blog\/2022\/03\/skills-for-a-scientific-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0careers and skills survey<\/a>, scientists working in this career area told us that they appreciate that their work:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>is intellectually stimulating<\/li>\r\n \t<li>is financially rewarding<\/li>\r\n<\/ul><\/p>\n      <\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<style>\n    <\/style>\n\n<section id=\"wp-block-1\">\n  <div class=\"vf-card-container  | vf-u-fullbleed  \n  | vf-u-background-color-ui--grey--light \">\n          <div class=\"vf-section-header | vf-u-margin__bottom--600 | vf-u-sr-only\">\n        <h2 class=\"vf-section-header__heading\" >\n        header    <\/h2>\n              <\/div>\n      \n\n<div class=\"vf-grid | vf-grid__col-3\"><div class=\"vf-grid__col--span-2\"><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want to learn more about this career area?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<details  class=\"vf-details\" id=\"\"  >\n<summary class=\"vf-details--summary\">\nResources<\/summary>\n<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n<div class=\"vf-links vf-links--tight vf-links__list--s vf-links__list--very-easy\">\n    <ul class=\"vf-links__list vf-list vf-links__list--secondary\">\n    <li class=\"vf-list__item\">\n          <a class=\"vf-list__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/careers\/2010\/02\/applications-scientist-career-track\">\n        The applications scientist career track \u2013 Science Careers      <\/a>\n      <\/li>\n    <li class=\"vf-list__item\">\n          <a class=\"vf-list__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abpi.org.uk\/careers\/job-case-studies\/product-manager\/\">\n        Product manager profile \u2013 Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry       <\/a>\n      <\/li>\n    <li class=\"vf-list__item\">\n          <a class=\"vf-list__link\" href=\"https:\/\/intersectjobsims.com\/?s=+field+application+specialist\">\n        InterSECT Job Sim simulation library &#8211; field application scientist activities      <\/a>\n      <\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details  class=\"vf-details\" id=\"\"  >\n<summary class=\"vf-details--summary\">\nVideos<\/summary>\n<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n<div class=\"vf-links vf-links--tight vf-links__list--s vf-links__list--very-easy\">\n    <ul class=\"vf-links__list vf-list vf-links__list--secondary\">\n    <li class=\"vf-list__item\">\n          <a class=\"vf-list__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1wfs7LMJn0g\">\n        Field Application Scientist\/Specialist Careers \u2013 UC Irvine \/ Youtube: Main content starts at 3 minutes 25 seconds in      <\/a>\n          <span class=\"vf-badge vf-badge--primary\">\n        **Recommended**      <\/span>\n      <\/li>\n    <li class=\"vf-list__item\">\n          <a class=\"vf-list__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wlRqRACj3SI\">\n        A day in the life of a field applications scientist \u2013 Thermo Fischer Scientific \/ You Tube      <\/a>\n      <\/li>\n    <li class=\"vf-list__item\">\n          <a class=\"vf-list__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IPK1G11-4xA\">\n        Field Application Scientist | BCLA Informational Interview &#8211; You Tube       <\/a>\n      <\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:12px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"vf-box vf-box--normal vf-box-theme--quinary | vf-u-margin__bottom--400\">\n                            <p class=\"vf-box__text\">We highly recommend learning more about the careers using the resources above, then conducting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/info-resources\/making-connections\/#vf-tabs__section-c9d226ee-2bad-45ed-bf4a-7d49cd01ad03\">informational interviews<\/a> to gain further insights directly from former PhDs working in career areas that interest you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"\"><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<article class=\"vf-card vf-card--brand vf-card--bordered vf-u-margin__bottom--800\" default>\n  \n  <div class=\"vf-card__content | vf-stack vf-stack--400\">\n          <h3 class=\"vf-card__heading\">\n                  <a class=\"vf-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/internal-information\/eicat\/embl-fellows-career-service\/career-exploration\/\" target=\"\">\n        \n        For EMBL fellows\n                  <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"vf-card__heading__icon | vf-icon vf-icon-arrow--inline-end\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n            <path d=\"M0 12c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12s12-5.373 12-12S18.627 0 12 0C5.376.008.008 5.376 0 12zm13.707-5.209l4.5 4.5a1 1 0 010 1.414l-4.5 4.5a1 1 0 01-1.414-1.414l2.366-2.367a.25.25 0 00-.177-.424H6a1 1 0 010-2h8.482a.25.25 0 00.177-.427l-2.366-2.368a1 1 0 011.414-1.414z\" fill=\"currentColor\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\"><\/path>\n          <\/svg>\n        <\/a>\n              <\/h3>\n    \n    \n          <p class=\"vf-card__text\">Further internal resources (e.g. library of recorded career talks) can be found on our intranet pages.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<hr class=\"vf-divider\">\n\n\n\n\n        <div class=\"vf-section-header\">\n        <h2 class=\"vf-section-header__heading\">\n            <a class=\"vf-section-header__heading vf-section-header__heading--is-link\"\n               target=\"\"\n               href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/blog\/category\/career-profiles\/profiles_products\/technical-support-application-science-product-management\/\">\n                Read relevant posts from our blog                <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"vf-section-header__icon | vf-icon vf-icon-arrow--inline-end\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                    <path d=\"M0 12c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12s12-5.373 12-12S18.627 0 12 0C5.376.008.008 5.376 0 12zm13.707-5.209l4.5 4.5a1 1 0 010 1.414l-4.5 4.5a1 1 0 01-1.414-1.414l2.366-2.367a.25.25 0 00-.177-.424H6a1 1 0 010-2h8.482a.25.25 0 00.177-.427l-2.366-2.368a1 1 0 011.414-1.414z\" fill=\"\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/h2>\n            <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"vf-grid vf-grid__col-3 | vf-content\">\n\n    \n            \n<article class=\"vf-summary vf-summary--news\" style=\"display: block; display: unset;\">\n  \n  <span class=\"vf-summary__date\" title=\"2024-05-02T09:46:14+00:00\"\n    datetime=\"2024-05-02T09:46:14+00:00\">2 May 2024  <\/span>\n    \n  <h3 class=\"vf-summary__title\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/blog\/2024\/05\/career-profile-nadine-thaler-phd-mba-team-leader-product-manager-applications-hamilton-bonaduz-ag\/\" class=\"vf-summary__link\">Career profile: Nadine Thaler, PhD, MBA, Team Leader\u00a0 Product Manager Applications, Hamilton Bonaduz AG<\/a>\n  <\/h3>\n    <p class=\"vf-summary__text\">\n    If you are an early-career researcher in the life sciences, navigating the career area of marketing may be daunting. To demystify this career path, we talked to Nadine Thaler, formerly a cancer research PhD and currently working as Team Leader Product Manager Applications at Hamilton Bonaduz AG, a&hellip;  <\/p>\n    <\/span>\n      \n<\/article>\n\n<!--\/vf-summary-->\n    \n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"vf-divider\">\n\n\n\n<div class=\"vf-grid | vf-grid__col-3\"><div class=\"vf-grid__col--span-3\"><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<div class=\"vf-section-header | vf-u-margin__bottom--400\">\n  <h2 class=\"vf-section-header__heading\" \n      >\n      \n          <a class=\"vf-section-header__heading vf-section-header__heading--is-link\"\n                  target=\"_blank\"\n         href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/info-resources\/exploration\/\">\n        Return to our Career information and exploration page        <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"vf-section-header__icon | vf-icon vf-icon-arrow--inline-end\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n          <path d=\"M0 12c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12s12-5.373 12-12S18.627 0 12 0C5.376.008.008 5.376 0 12zm13.707-5.209l4.5 4.5a1 1 0 010 1.414l-4.5 4.5a1 1 0 01-1.414-1.414l2.366-2.367a.25.25 0 00-.177-.424H6a1 1 0 010-2h8.482a.25.25 0 00.177-.427l-2.366-2.368a1 1 0 011.414-1.414z\" fill=\"\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\"><\/path>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/a>\n      <\/h2>\n\n  \n  <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":8552,"menu_order":18,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-title-left-aligned.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-13497","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13497"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20449,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13497\/revisions\/20449"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/embl-fellows-career-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=13497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}