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Information technology (IT) gives our work a flexibility that would have been unimaginable a few years ago and access to much more information.

Whether it’s aiding high throughput screening, the application of bioinformatics and genomics, managing enormous amounts of data from clinical trials, devising process systems in manufacturing or developing websites, the role of IT in our industry is massive.

Changing the way we interact

The Internet and web technologies are standardising the look and feel of most IT applications and changing the way we interact with customers and patients. It makes working together and sharing information that much easier, which is increasingly valuable as the development of medicines becomes more internationalÌý– especially in terms of manufacturing, finance and human resource systems. It’s also opening up vast new opportunities to give patients and consumers better access to treatment and a greater understanding of how medicines work.

You can imagine the size and scale of projects this involves. They don’t come much bigger. But as the industry is renowned for the training that’s provided, you’re always likely to be inspired, but never overwhelmed.

Transferable skills

One of the biggest pluses about working in this area of the industry is that the skills you pick are transferable across different disciplines. It’s common to move between research, manufacturing and commerce. So during the course of your career, you could find yourself working with doctors and scientists one year, and designing an e-business solution the next. It’s the perfect way to combine interests in science, technology and business, and you don’t have to come from a technical background to work in some of these areas.