David Crosby urges young scientists to take real advantage of the mentorship opportunities that abound everywhere.

After completing a PhD at the University of California, Irvine and a postdoc at the University of California, San Francisco, David Crosby found job satisfaction teaching health care providers the latest information about hepatitis therapies. Here he describes how he founds this career, and the connections to land his first position.

Read more about David’s career transition here.

What’s the difference between medical science liaisons (MSL) and pharmaceutical sales reps?

In sales, they are principally involved in promotion. They spend a lot of time talking about the product, its utility within that physician’s practice, and strengths in comparison with the competition. My role, on the surface, it looks similar. I too go into the physician’s office and discuss the disease state and available medication. But my goal is not specifically to motivate the physician to use our product versus another product.

How did you learn that MSL jobs exist?

My sister-in-law has been in pharmaceutical sales for fifteen years. She asked me “did you ever think about becoming an MSL?” I said “what’s an MSL?” She plugged me in to some former colleagues who gave me more insight from the perspective of former bench scientists.

Then, I talked to a friend of mine from University of California, Irvine. She was a crystallographer, and she ended up going down the MSL route. I thought, “I’ve spent the last nine years working in infectious disease. That’s a little bit more closely related to the clinic than crystallography!” Continue reading →