MBA in the Pharmaceutical Industry – Do You Need One? 

It’s no secret that the pharmaceutical industry is a lucrative one. With the right skills, you can go far. However, it’s also easy to become trapped in your current position with no chance of advancement in sight. This is a struggle many young professionals face today. Thankfully, there are options.

Pursuing the right MBA program can help you advance your career and get you into that leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry that you’ve always wanted. However, what is the right program? What about an MBA in pharmaceutical management or maybe healthcare management? Is it really necessary? Are there alternatives?

Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to look at today. We’re going to explore whether you need an MBA with a specialization in pharmaceuticals to advance your career in this industry. 

But first, let’s look at your specialization options for your MBA and what they can do for you. 

Pharmaceutical MBA Types 

There are a variety of pharmaceutical MBAs you can choose from to further your career, and we’re going to cover a few of them so you don’t walk away from this article confused.

Here are a few pharmaceutical MBA types you can consider: 

• Pharmaceutical Management – A popular pharmaceutical MBA, pharmaceutical management students focus on developing the skills to manage and administer businesses in the pharmaceutical industry. It combines the study of basic and pharmaceutical sciences as well as marketing and management courses. 

• Pharma Marketing – Whereas pharmaceutical management courses include marketing, pharma marketing focuses on it. Students in these programs learn the necessary skills to market drugs and medical devices to great effect. As such, it’s typically pursued by those seeking to become marketing specialists in the pharma industry.
  
• Healthcare Management – Healthcare and pharmaceuticals are close to one another in the industry. This MBA specialization focuses on how to manage and administer healthcare systems in both the private and public sectors.
  

And these are only three of the specializations you can pursue with your MBA. You no longer have to wonder what is an MBA in pharmaceutical management or how it differs from pharma marketing.

Mind you, a typical pharma MBA, regardless of specialization will require at least 2 years to complete, and require them to adhere to a strict schedule of in-person courses. 

Contrast this with Quantic’s MBA program which can be completed in as little as 15 months. What’s more, a Quantic MBA can be completed remotely and flexibly so as to not interrupt your professional life. As such, it offers a strong alternative to other MBA programs. 

Is an MBA in Pharma a Good Option? 

As with any choice in life, you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of an MBA in pharma.

Let’s start with the positives. Of course, an MBA in pharma will provide you with the necessary business and financial knowledge to understand the inner workings of a pharmaceutical business. This includes the necessary soft skills such as communication and leadership to perform well in the cross-company collaboration required for a healthy business. That’s not to mention that MBA holders often earn higher salaries than their peers. 

However, this all comes at a cost. Your typical MBA requires a serious time commitment of 2 years of in-person classes and time is taken off to attend said classes. As such, pursuing a traditional MBA can be similar to hitting pause on your professional life – something the young professional often avoids. And there is the cost. According to Investopedia, the average program can easily cost $40,000 per year. That’s $80,000 to complete the entire degree.

With this all in mind, whether we can call an MBA in pharma good highly depends on the needs of the person seeking it out. It offers quality education to become a leader in your company. However, a pharma MBA also typically comes at a prohibitive cost and time commitment.  

MBA Jobs in the Pharmaceutical Industry

So, with that in mind. What can you do with a pharmaceutical MBA? That’s to say, what is the scope of an MBA in pharmaceutical management? After all, the primary reason to pursue this degree is to advance in your career. Where can you advance to? What kind of MBA marketing jobs are there in pharmaceutical companies?

To answer that, take a look at these pharmaceutical management jobs available to MBA pharmaceutical graduates. 

1. Pharmaceutical Purchase Manager 
2. Quality Assurance Manager 
3. Regional Healthcare Manager
4. Senior Project Manager
5. Statistics Director
6. Drug Development Director
7. Director of Regulatory Affairs
8. Senior Consultant
9. Senior Quality Control Analyst 
10. Health Care Manager

MBA in Pharmaceutical Management Salaries in the US 

We briefly mentioned the high salary that an MBA in pharmaceutical management can bring before. So, let’s explore that further and how that salary compares to other MBA specializations. 

MBA Specialization	Average Salary*
Pharmaceutical Management Salary	$125,000
Pharmaceutical Sciences	$137,000
Pharmaceutical Marketing	$110,000
General MBA	$94,000

*Salary Ranges Sourced from PayScale. 

Pharmaceutical Recruiters 

Now, when you’re looking for a high-paying position in pharmaceuticals, you’re likely looking to work for the biggest companies in the pharma industry. To that end, consider pursuing your MBA with Quantic. Quantic graduates work with many of the top pharma companies today. 

Quantic MBA graduates have been hired by:

• Pfizer
• Roche
• Biogen
• AbbieVie
• Novartis
• Merck
• DSK
• Sanofi
• Takeda

But your choices are certainly not limited to these companies. There are many more pharmaceutical companies looking for talented MBA graduates.

These include: 

• Reaction Search International 
• Advanced Clinical 
• Allen-Jeffers Associates
• The Bandish Group
• Beckford Search Partners
• Bio-Partners and Lennon Search Associates
  

Best Online MBA for the Pharmaceutical Industry 

When you’re looking for the best MBA for your career in the pharmaceutical industry, you should take into careful consideration the potential downsides of specialized MBAs such as those in pharmaceutical management. As we discussed, these programs are costly and time-consuming – requiring you as a student to make a significant investment. Even then, it will take time to see return on your investment pursuing a traditional MBA.

The same can be said of EMBA in pharmaceutical management, perhaps even more so. 

An MBA in pharmaceutical industry management does offer the specialized knowledge to work within the industry and take on leadership roles. However, it has the same problem as pharmaceutical management – cost, time, and overall risk on ROI.

So, in light of this, consider Quantic’s MBA program to help you find your dream job in the pharmaceutical industry. With Quantic’s flexible and innovative approach to advanced education, you’ll enjoy an accelerated 15-month education that’s both cheaper and more effective than other MBA programs.

66% of Quantic graduates report receiving a promotion during their first year out of the program. This is because Quantic’s MBA is designed for early career professionals looking to get ahead. Quantic provides exactly that with an award-winning curriculum that combines interactive technology and collaborative group study.

Plus, you don’t have to put your career on pause with Quantic. You enjoy a quality education alongside a cohort of fellow talented professionals via our remote learning model so you can approach your education on your terms.  

So, apply today to get a Quantic leap on your career.