[Boston Globe] The Growth of Mass. Biotechs Is Outpacing The Number Of Qualified Workers

According to a report by the nonprofit Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, jobs in the biopharmaceutical sector in Massachusetts are expected to grow more than 17 percent between 2017 and 2023. However, there is already a shortage of candidates.

Jobs that are the hardest to fill are entry-level positions that require a life-sciences associate’s degree and higher-level biotech roles that require a Ph.D. Job openings requiring a biotech-related associate’s degree more than doubled since 2010 while the number of students graduating with those credentials only grew 56 percent. A similar discrepancy was apparent for jobs that required a biotech-related Ph.D, which rose 43 percent, compared to a 16 percent increase in the number of graduating Ph.D students.

The life sciences sector is growing twice as fast as the overall state and US economies. Executive director of MassBioEd, Peter Abair, said, “If your kids aren’t interested in the life sciences, maybe you should talk to them about it.”

To learn more about what the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation study found, read Boston Globe’s original article “The Growth of Mass. Biotechs is Outpacing the Number of Qualified Workers.”