Increasing pressure from government to reduce costs and demonstrate value has changed the landscape for life science companies in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technology. Those who are able to adapt their business models to contain costs and maintain regulatory compliance will be most viable. And although investor confidence in biotechnology is on the rise, the funding levels are still below pre-recession figures.
The aging baby boomer generation, expanded consumer access to health care, and intensified efforts to engage people in wellness and disease prevention, is creating growth in the life sciences. The R&D process is increasingly becoming a collaboration between life sciences companies and health care providers. Improving patient diagnosis and treatment, and providing personalized health improvement plans is spurring advancements in genomics, nanotechnology and robotics – candidates with experience in these areas will be in demand. These technology advancements which have included, for example, personal wearable technologies that track a person’s vital signs, digital medicines such as smart pills with microchips, and contact lens that track blood glucose levels, are focused on prevention in an effort to drive down health care costs.
Sample Interview Questions for Biological Technicians:
What steps do you take to solve an unfamiliar problem?
Why do some habitats support higher biodiversity than others?
What have you done to improve your knowledge about advancements in biological sciences in the last year?
What kinds of DNA sequencing or DNA informatics projects have you done?
What is a burette and how is it used?
How do you minimize the impact of inevitable failed experiments on your overall progress?
Why does DNA twist?
What is the optimum temperature for catalysis?
What is the difference between an acid and a base?
What was your most successful project and what was your role in the process?
Tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure.
What are the examples of homeostasis?
Name some laboratory tools and their uses.
Give me 4 examples of chemical and physical changes.
Why do substances react with each other?
Why would you use a graduated cylinder?
Name one common laboratory technique.
Name the purine bases.
Describe a situation where you had to collect information.
How would you describe your work style?