senior scientist

associate director

principal scientist

senior specialist

scientist

Merck

My experience in discovery chemistry: If you care about the work, you can be happy here. Unfortunately, management will try to ruin that, which at times can make you thankful that they interact with you so seldom.

Directors have at least twice the number of direct reports that they should have, most of whom tend to be on different projects. They never attend those project meetings. They also never come through the lab. They only talk to you twice a month. In fact, they outsource the management of some of their direct reports to other direct reports under the guise of "scientific supervision". This is because they "don't have the time." Well, then maybe you should have fewer direct reports. 

The scientific supervisor/mentor thing is a scam to get other people to do their work for them while they get all the credit for being the "people manager," when in fact they're doing very little work in those cases. This all adds up to having to rely heavily on feedback from other people at year-end review because they really don't know anything about you. 

Speaking of year-end reviews, the calibrations meeting that management runs each year can result in other managers -- who know even less about you than your actual manager -- knocking down your rating. You won't even know if this happens, because the offenders don't even have to answer to you for it. You'll never even know if this happens. This is outrageous. 

Managers extol the importance of collaboration, but then pit us all against each other in year-end review. It really is in your best interests to not help your colleagues. Thankfully this doesn't occur.

Unlike other companies in the business, there are no job descriptions for each level. This allows managers to promote or not promote whomever they want. If you try to gain insight into the process, you will never get a straight answer. The process is shady at best. You'd think they would be more forthcoming given that there are countless employers in the area that are happy to give you a promotion if Merck won't.

It is great that managers want us to publish and present at external meetings, but they've taken it too far. The amount of credit you can get for what is essentially writing up or presenting work that is mostly done by other people is absurd. There is more emphasis put on this than actually impacting projects. i.e. You get rewarded more for visibility than the actual quality of our work.

Perhaps the most damning criticism of the department is the plummeting lack of emphasis placed on organic chemistry. Merck organic synthesis used to be the pride of the industry. The Boston Chemistry Leadership Team (BCLT) doesn't care anymore. Personally, I've had interactions with Directors who clearly have let their organic chemistry proficiency take a nose dive, which is disgraceful given that they manage mostly lab workers.

The pay and promotion processes are not competitive at all given the hundreds of biotech/pharmaceutical companies in the area, all of which would love to get their hands on a Merck scientist. Many people over the years have found far more success in terms of promotions and pay going elsewhere. I have wondered myself how much money I've left on the table by not leaving years ago. My salary at my current employer is on par with the equivalent of one level higher at Merck.

I've often been asked why I left the grand Merck. I always give a soft answer, but here's the truth: The reputation has stopped matching up to the reality. That Merck sheen wears off quickly if you aren't being fairly paid, titled, and are being treated as an afterthought by your boss. Management doesn't seem to realize this. They think everybody wants to be a Merck Director or better some day, when the reality is that few actually do.

The BCLT runs the department in a manner that protects and promotes their status as easily as possible, and it's their direct reports that pay the price. That's why they prefer to manage several direct reports poorly instead of a few well. It's a system where the best people don't necessarily get rewarded, their development stagnates, and their managers will never tell them why. Their MO when dealing with complaints is to shut down the conversation as quickly as possible without offering any answers. They'll pretend to listen, but they really don't. Again, it's as if they think Merck is the only game in town when there are in fact hundreds of other employers in the immediate area. 

Many people have left Boston Chemistry in the past couple of years, some of whom I thought would never leave. If I were upper management, I would be VERY concerned about how the BCLT is running things. They are not operating the department in the company's best interests. They operate it to best serve their own interests.

A typical day at work was preparing my compounds for synthesis.
*Record daily my reactions scheme and progress as well as completion of failure of the reactions performed via electronic notebook.
*Monitoring the reaction progress by different instrumentations' techniques: such as Thin-Layer Chromatography, using UV light or different stains.
*Perform Mass Spectroscopy to determine if the desired structure's mass value was obtained, and finally compound structure Identification by analizing them by NMR-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
*Confirm if the desired product was pure or if a mixture of products was obtained.
*If Pure,sent for testing (if a final target was obtained), or used as a starting material to make larger molecules or peptides,depending on the project.
*Isolation as well as characterization are very important for compound syntheses.
*I learned to work in a fast-paced environment. .
*Being focused was very important and critical as well. *Communications with co-worker and supervisor was a routine.

*The hardest part of the job was -when the rections did not work or a mixture of other products contaminated the product and further purifications were needed.
*These factors caused delays in the progression of the final compound.
*The most enjoyable part of the job was obtaining a pure compound on time and ready to be sent to the biologists to be tested for further investigations.
*The data obtained was critical for the progression of similar targets. These targets were needed to further analize potential leads that can afford a target compound- to progress the desire series under investigation and develop a Structure Activity Relationship.(SAR).
*The SAR will help the scientist to identify the potential compound faster and will allow to manipulate the structure to improve potency.
*Record daily my reactions scheme and progress as well as completion of failure of the reactions performed via electronic notebook,.
* Monitoring the reaction progress by different instrumentations' techniques: such as Thin-Layer Chromatography, using UV light or different stains.
*Performed analysis via a Mass Spectroscopy to determine if the desired structure's mass value was obtained, and finally compound structure Identification by analizing them by NMR-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance -to confirm if the desired product was pure or if a mixture of products was obtained. Then, if the desired product was completed and identified, the molecule was sent for testing( if a final target was obtained) or used as a starting material to make larger molecules or peptides,depending on the project.
*Isolation as well as characterization are very important for compound syntheses.
*I learned to work in a fast-paced environment. .
*Being focused was very important and critical as well. *Communications with co-worker and supervisor was a routine.
*The hardest part of the job was when the rections did not work or a mixture of other products contaminated the product and further purifications were needed. These factors caused delays in the progression of the final compound.
*The most enjoyable part of the job was obtaining a pure compound on time and ready to be sent to the biologists to be tested for further investigations.
*The data obtained was critical for the progression of similar targets. *These targets were needed to further analize potential leads that can afford a target compound- to progress the desire series under investigation and develop a Structure Activity Relationship.(SAR).
*The data obtained was critical for the progression of similar targets. *These targets were needed to further analize potential leads that can afford a target compound- to progress the desire series under investigation and develop a Structure Activity Relationship.(SAR).
The SAR will help the scientist to identify the potential compound faster and will allow to manipulate the structure to improve potency.

•	With limited support and a tight deadline managed multiple concurrent projects for disintegration and re-construction/re-enablement of a portfolio of pharmaceutical R&D biotechnology capabilities with a total business paradigm shift, increasing experiment execution outsourcing from 5% to 95%. Amidst a dynamic transitional environment, performed rapid current state project/program assessments, investigated and drove critical outstanding issues to resolution.
•	Worked closely with the Enterprise Business Architecture Manager & Director, various business, scientific and technology executives and stakeholders to identify & tap enterprise resource pool, continuously track potential multiple critical paths, develop PMBOK compliant Project/Program Management Plans, schedules, facilitate/lead working and reporting meetings. Produced adequate documentation (meeting minutes, MS Project Server 2007, SharePoint, etc.). Maintained a continuous control & auditory outlook, while managing & coordinating efforts with minimal disruption to project and functional groups.
•	Systems Development methodologies used per initiative needs include: Waterfall, Iterative, Agile & combinations. 
•	Projects met Information Security, Risk Management, Quality Assurance & Control (QA/QC), GMP, CLIA, GLP and HIPAA regulation requirements. End-to-end integrated testing & simulated LIMS runs were an integral part.
•	Developed detailed Inter-enterprise Integrated Release Plans & Schedules. Conducted Release Conferences and dry-runs identifying risks. Successfully managed multiple complex releases over short to long intervals & one-offs.
•	Actively engaged in Change Management and revamp of existing business processes to comply with best practices based on Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements, and the Key Performance Indicators necessary to continually monitor and measure performance of scientific experiments and projects.
•	Managed relevant creative content development and publishing on various internal and external sites.
•	Doubled-up as the Solutions Manager. Analyzed software, hardware, security and networking aspects.
•	Primary business units externalized include Gene Expression Laboratory (Merck GEL, the world's largest high quality Gene Expression Lab, it also conducts Genotyping and Gene Sequencing experiments - post acquisition, COVANCE Genomic Laboratories - CGL); Rosetta Biosoftware (its various scientific platforms to include Resolver, Syllego and Elucidator; acquired by Microsoft the scientific systems were integrated with Microsoft Amalga - HealthVault suite); The Sage Bionetworks a not-for-profit medical research organization with vision to provide open access to vast highly consistent disease biology data  was formed. MPRI’s groups were largely relocated to Boston, MA; Rahway, NJ; and North Wales, PA.
•	Defined, structured & objectified complex & fluid projects portfolio in consultation with stakeholders & executives.
•	Engaged and brought in sync technical and business groups, actively facilitating reviews & assessments. Developed business cases and obtained exceptions where necessary.
•	Successfully planned and co-lead multiple large application, data and Active Directory authentication migrations.
•	Acted as a ScrumMaster and Agile coach to lead SCRUM and Test Driven Development (TDD) to successfully develop and implement of a suite of scientific systems for Merck’s Molecular Profiling & Research Informatics. Systems are used for pre-clinical and clinical experiments, and corresponding modifications to the scientific systems across multiple enterprises to include Merck, COVANCE and CryoGene Lab within the aggressive M&A activities deadline.
•	Proactively identified gaps and successfully drove to resolution a suite of scientific systems to manage pre-clinical & clinical experiment specimen, enabling on-schedule site closure and intake of new customers by CGL.

First off, this company has some of the worst management and HR personnel that I've ever dealt with professionally.  I am basing this on the fact that my second day of work, we had 8 inches of snow.  I can't afford to take off work at all, but if the roads are unsafe and I can't get my car out of the driveway, it should be understood by a direct manager and senior manager that this wasn't the case of an employee being lax and not showing up for work - it was an act of God, and UNSAFE to drive.  Due to the fact that I was unable to get to work because of the snow on my second day of work, I showed up for my third day of employment, was called into the office and lambasted for my audacity to take off after just starting the job.  
Another employee who made it into work on the snow day, slipped and fell in the parking lot due to ice accumulation.  She got an injury from it and they wrote her up for being "unsafe".  That is the mentality of this company.  
About a week after the snow, an employee was injured due to another unsafe condition at the facility.  At that point, they had a company-wide safety meeting, where they didn't address issues like forcing employees to come to work when there was 8 inches of snow on the ground, issues like why people slip and fall when there is ice in the parking lot, but instead, lectured us on things like holding the railing when we were climbing the stairs, and making "slow, deliberate movements" at all times.  I couldn't get over the hypocrisy.
I should have known that was the culture of Merck after the snarky comments made to me by one of the managers during my interview.  He mentioned the fact that I had five different jobs in my lifetime, so that made me a "job-hopper" and unable to work for anything or stick with anything.  He failed to ask why I had that number of jobs.  One job I left because I moved to another state to get married, two companies closed down, one eliminated my position, and the final job lost 80% of their workforce.  The assumption on the part of one of the interviewers, was just so arrogant and exactly in line with all of their managers.  
Another aspect of the job that must be dealt with in the packaging department, is that they hire "helpers" from a local company.  Without elaborating on why, the helpers are an element of the job that can make it quite trying, when you're already dealing with terrible management. 
All that being said, the pay is great and the benefits are great, but honestly, I'd rather go elsewhere and make less because at the end of the day, if I'm going to get screamed at for not risking life and limb during a snowstorm, it makes it very difficult to actually care about the job itself.

I record daily my reactions scheme and progress as well as completion or failure of the reactions performed via electronic notebook.
I learned to work in a fast-paced environment. Being focused was very important and critical as well.
I had to record daily my reactions scheme and progress as well as completion of failure of the reactions performed via electronic notebook, monitoring the reaction progress by different instrumentations' techniques: such as Thin-Layer Chromatography, using UV light or different stains. Also analysis via a Mass Spectroscopy to determine if the desired structure's mass value was obtained, and finally compound structure Identification by analizing them by NMR-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance -to confirm if the desired product was pure or if a mixture of products was obtained. Then, if the desired product was completed and identified, the molecule was sent for testing ( if a final target was obtained) or used as a starting material to make larger molecules or peptides,depending on the project. Learned how to monitor the reaction progress by different instrumentations' techniques: such as Thin-Layer Chromatography, using UV light or different stains. Preparative Chromatography, and HPLC.
The Management's recognition varied dependent of who was the supervisor. However, I proved to be competent and resourceful and I was recognized when I excelled with my contributions.
Communications with co-worker and supervisor was a routine. I worked with very good workers. We developed a great and lasting friendship.The hardest part of the job was -when the rections did not work or a mixture of other products contaminated the product and further purifications were needed.
These factors caused delays in the progression of the final compound. The most enjoyable part of the job was obtaining a pure compound on time and ready to be sent to the biologists to be tested for further investigations. The data obtained was critical for the progression of similar targets. These targets were needed to further evaluate potential leads.
The data can identify a target compound- to progress the desired series under investigation and develop a Structure Activity Relationship.(SAR).
*The SAR will help the scientist to identify the potential compound faster and will allow to manipulate the structure to improve potency.

A typical day started at 6:00 A.M. with checking emails and notices, along with phone messages for absences. This would be followed by meeting and greeting the crew. The usual crew members would go to assigned areas; unless there were employee absences--personal day, sick day or vacation day. When necessary, overtime would be given to cover absences but with just a few, crew members would be assigned to pick up the slack.

It was during this time that new information would be handed out and posted on the bulletin board. Once the crew was dispersed to their assigned tasks, the attendance would be noted in the required program; as well as overtime. The first morning tour would begin and all areas checked to ensure the entire plant is performing according to specification.

Employees would be observed doing their tasks without prior notice. Meeting with customers would follow to ensure satisfaction. The first break was 9:30 AM and lunch at 11:30 A.M. Because of open-door policy, employees would call or come by the office to discuss any issues affecting performance. After lunch the second tour would begin, followed by daily and weekly schedule. Completion of days off and vacation request would be posted. The second tour began; during which all department logs would be signed and documented by supervision. The crew met at the office at the end of the shift to ensure everyone was accounted for before leaving the site.

Like any job, there were amazing employees who were disciplined. They cared about doing a good job--personal pride. The prevailing atmosphere was familial. I learnt that people though very alike in many ways, loved to be treated individually. The crew did not always get along with each other, but they knew how to come together when needed to get the job done right. The easiest part of the job was rewarding them for a job well done. I respected them and they in return gave the respect right back. I was very pleased with the crew. I was sometimes hard on them, but I appreciated them. The hardest part of the job. Because of their respect, they made my job easy and enjoyable even on the hard day--too much work and too few people. The hardest of the job was trying not to overwork the outstanding workers. They always do the job well; as a result, It was easy to call them to do extra because I know the outcome would be great everytime. This was not fair to them. Management was always very supportive. I could not have asked for a better group of people.

Where I worked many things will need to be improved.
•	Management to employee engagement totally lacking
•	Middle level Management not leading the efforts to implement new ideas and new company policies or directives to improve organizational strength and productivity.
•	The ossification of old ideas, non-participatory behaviors, and lack of involvement on the part of middle level management in dealing with new problems
•	Employees are not provided ergonomic furniture, sitting arrangements nor are they provided with personal computers to individually work, communicate, collaborate and be more efficient. Production employees have no offices/ cubicles and are tendered to squat around and wait to use computers. And all the while Middle management don’t see anything wrong with such a culture and do not care or even show any sign of making the situation better since they are already comfortable in their offices and the employees who do the work are left squatting around.
•	Employee initiatives are stifled. Employee to employee engagement among different teams is controlled leading to inefficiency
•	Simple problems go unresolved for a very, long time- this delay being blamed by middle level management on "existing company policies" especially on "Company Safety policies" leading to unnecessary bottlenecks in operations.
•	Employees are not trained adequately and are not even encouraged or supported in their aspirations
•	Middle level Management culture of disengagement, lack of cooperation and leadership.
•	Lack of proper organization of inventory for the daily operations culminating in inefficient use of resources.
•	Middle level Management over reliance on one loyal/trusted employee over the other employees in the team, doubting, belittling, and ridiculing their efforts.
•	In the process employees have resolved to the feeling of being irrelevant and not important in discussions and daily decisions of their work and therefore are at work to get a paycheck and that is what matters most to them.
•	The company’s purpose is lost on some employees and maybe many more.



The mission of the company is superb.  It's tremendous to be part of an company that helps so many people. There are a lot of really smart people in the company mixed with some people that are there to collect a paycheck.  For the very most part people there are incredible.  The pay and benefits are very good.    The work is complex and can be very rewarding. Programs and projects are lead with a purpose or aspiration.   
Structure, hierarchy and box checking are finding their way back into the culture.  I had a lot of colleagues that were collecting their check.  Even though they wanted to do more or wanted more for the patients and  other people Merck serves, they weren't allowed.   Decision making and action are incredibly slow in certain parts of the business.  Incredibly slow.  When I was there we called it the 'speed of Merck'.  
The environment generally avoids conflict. That combined too much work and lack of real priorities in the day to day, chokes curiosity and creativity.  Internal proxies (leaders) drive strategic decisions instead of customer and competitive data. This leads to stale thinking and continuing to do things the same way as they have always been done.  Current leadership puts emphasis on rigor and consistency.   Less emphasis on customer (although they say they want it) and being curious and nimble.
  Biggest watch outs include: 1) Lots of underutilized talent- mainly because either traditional thinking or processes don't allow for people to contribute fully.  It's frustrating and prevalent.  There are too many layers and many leaders don't know how to fully take advantage of the talent in their org or unwilling to give up control.  
2) Leaders tell others to focus on the most important things but there are expectations and behaviors everywhere that signal that you can't say no and need to get everything done- despite what is capitulated.
3)Much of the company is on a hamster wheel.  As leaders change (which is frequent) or as things reorganize (also frequent), necessary changes to advance the capabilities in the company change with it.  Almost as a matter of course.  It's not uncommon to feel like you are chasing your tail.  
4)DEI efforts are less visible than previous leadership eras.  There is a different feel with the current CEO and Sr. Leadership when compared to the last round of leaders.  I felt marginalized at times and it seemed to be systemically ok. 
  


A typical day at work was preparing my compounds for synthesis.
I had to record daily my reactions scheme and progress as well as completion of failure of the reactions performed via electronic notebook, monitoring the reaction progress by different instrumentations' techniques: such as Thin-Layer Chromatography, using UV light or different stains.
Also analysis via a Mass Spectroscopy to determine if the desired structure's mass value was obtained, and finally compound structure Identification by analizing them by NMR-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Had to confirm if the desired product was pure or if a mixture of products was obtained. Then, if the desired product was completed and identified, the molecule was sent for testing (if a final target was obtained), or used as a starting material to make larger molecules or peptides,depending on the project.
Isolation as well as characterization are very important for compound syntheses.
I learned to work in a fast-paced environment. .
Being focused was very important and critical as well. Communications with co-worker and supervisor was a routine.
I worked with very good workers. We developed a great and lasting friendship.
The hardest part of the job was -when the rections did not work or a mixture of other products contaminated the product and further purifications were needed. These factors caused delays in the progression of the final compound.
The most enjoyable part of the job was obtaining a pure compound on time and ready to be sent to the biologists to be tested for further investigations. The data obtained was critical for the progression of similar targets. These targets were needed to further analize potential leads that can afford a target compound- to progress the desire series under investigation and develop a Structure Activity Relationship.(SAR). The SAR will help the scientist to identify the potential compound faster and will allow to manipulate the structure to improve potency.

I enjoyed the opportunity to use my creativity to build strong relationships with my customer base and their staff through consistent and effective territory management.  I would take technical information and convey it into practical education for HCPs and their staff.  I managed my territory as a small business and I practiced corporate stewardship in conducting discussions during lunches or dinner.  
As primary touch points, my team and I worked to collaborate and coordinate our efforts and resources to exhibit a streamlined approach to our activities.  Our customers appreciated our coordinated approach and we were viewed as valuable assets during our scientific interactions.  
My most memorable and enjoyable moments were during lunches or joint appointments with my team.  We would play off of each other’s discussion.  Often we would begin with a patient profile that was common to each product being marketed and though it seemed rehearsed we conducted credible discussions and there was a natural flow, utilizing a customer-focused approach.
I found it challenging when HCPs had dedicated time slots and often times could not be seen because of their patient load.  Although, I have relationships with the HCPs but due to the volume of patients - choices have to be made on the physician's part in order to meet his/her patients needs.  
I implemented a work around to this issue by trying every possible way to keep my product top of mind.  Upon meeting with the HCPs during subsequent meetings, I mentioned their dedication to their patients. Often times they drive the dialogue by sharing patient cases and I in turn ask questions based on their responses.  We come to some kind of action that resonates their patient concerns and requires a change in their Rxing behavior, which occurs over the course of several interactions.  
I took pride in selling for a company that is considered a leader in the pharmaceutical industry with the therapeutics that were either first in class or best in class.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior scientist 30 salaries reported	$137,691 per year
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Senior specialist 13 salaries reported	$124,454 per year
Scientist 11 salaries reported	$103,600 per year

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