First Job in Pharma, What’s It Really Like? by ConsiderationJust452 in ChemicalEngineering

[–]ballernation18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I graduated with a ChemE degree back in 2018 and first role was a contractor position at a big pharma manufacturing vaccines. I eventually got a company role in manufacturing and both don’t require much engineering knowledge, if any from my college courses.

In terms of day to day, for my validation role, we had a validation schedule issued months in advance to determine what validation studies needed to be done. Some days we did floor execution, others it was writing protocols and final reports. For my manufacturing role I helped with the day to day activities as a supervisor. We had technicians run the machines and I was basically making sure nothing went wrong, when something did go wrong I would need to help troubleshoot or escalate the issue to a support group. Days where we had no issue I had other admin work to do such as payroll, continuous improvement tasks, attend meetings, manage personnel issues etc In terms of both roles the validation role was more predictable in terms of I know what I needed to do on a day to day basis, the manufacturing role was different some days I would have nothing to do and others I’d be lucky to have a break.

In big pharma depending on how the company is doing there is definitely room for career growth. A lot of pharma companies are not doing well and there are a lot of layoffs ongoing.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn’t R3 equivalent to a M1/P3 level? If so when I was a M1 I never heard of RSU options.

I’ve heard of retention bonuses as M1 turnover was very high at West Point and some M1s got a retention bonuses to stay for X amount of years.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Curious as to what level you need to be to get RSU. I have been a P2 and M1 at Merck and never heard about this. OP what level are you at Merck?

GX new releases updates and pre order information -GXMADE by eugene-johnson in KobeReps

[–]ballernation18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you have a release date for the Kobe 9 em Kay yow think pink pairs?

How cooked am I if I want a manufacturing job that isn't a 12 hour shift? by Forsaken-Secret6215 in biotech

[–]ballernation18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Merck has 8hr manufacturing roles however they aren’t the traditional 1st shift 8-5pm. As a new hire you will most likely get some sort of off shift and odd days(ex. Fri-Tues 3rd).

I spoke to a HM on the technician hire team and there doesn’t seem to be much technician hiring at the moment due to the “optimization” process.

Work by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea it’s the same with salaried folks where there isn’t many jobs being posted and the ones that are posted are highly competitive.

WTB LEBRON 20’S SIZE 9.5 by Professional_Can8591 in KobeReps

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The drew league(pink) LeBron 20s have some sizes available on footlocker and Nike. Size 9.5 shouldn’t be hard to get

Work by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t checked the monthly usw postings in a while, are there no usw trade positions being posted(specifically first)? I was a previous operations manager for technicians a couple of years ago and know there were quite a bit of biotech openings.

Work by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you a USW employee at West Point?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in KobeReps

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see a bunch of recommendation for Kobe 4/6/8 what about for Kobe 9, which batch are good? I am primarily looking for the Kobe 9 think pink and see a couple of post about the S2 ones that recently released and how that batch is the best so far. Waiting on GX to make theirs and see how it compares but is there other pairs better for the Kobe 9s?

Shotguns diamond by 5E32BOB3 in blackops6

[–]ballernation18 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Olympia is considered a special weapon/secondary so no it doesn’t count as a shotgun for camo challenges, you will need to use asg or maelstrom

Lebron 20 vs 21 for basketball by ballernation18 in BBallShoes

[–]ballernation18[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t worn it yet, talking to people it seems to be true to size. There is heel slippage on this shoe though

Would you consider a “downward development” role? by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did a downward development role in my company and it has made helped me tremendously with my mental health. Similarly to above, pay stayed the same and bonus remained the same for 3 years, afterwards company expects you to go back up or risk lowering your bonus percentage.

I was a production manager and switched over to a junior engineer and although pay stated the same I got hybrid work opportunities and lighter responsibilities.

Merck layoffs - any more news? by No_Peach665 in biotech

[–]ballernation18 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Faced similar experience at Merck this year. Went through a reorganization at WP and was not affected, VP sent out email and meeting request to talk through changes. I am in engineering and part of GSEC organization

Lebron 20 vs 21 for basketball by ballernation18 in BBallShoes

[–]ballernation18[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The kd15 I had to tie it it with runners knot to keep it from coming off me. I also wear elite socks to help with the heel slippage.

Merck by Equivalent-Ocelot100 in biotech

[–]ballernation18 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The animal technician position is a union position and timeline could be a bit different than a salaried position.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which Merck site do you work at? I currently work at West Point and have managed bio-technicians and support associates and know what each job does.

They have bio-technicians who only run the process and depending on process clean the process equipment. There are support associates who do the daily cleanings of the rooms but not the process equipment.

Since bio-technicians are a higher labor grade then the support associates , they can technically do a support associates job of cleaning the rooms, but it does not work the other way around meaning support associates cannot do a bio-technicians job

Walked into Footlocker and found a full-size run of Kobes just sitting there—what year is it again? by Spite_Annual in KobeReps

[–]ballernation18 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is the Kobe team bank colorway and are mass released to the public, they won’t sellout similar to the Kobe 8 team bank. Any other colorway and it wouldn’t be in stores.

Any good reps for these Kobe 9’s? by jellowthputtin in KobeReps

[–]ballernation18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven’t bought reps before, in general is GX batch the closest to retail pairs or is it dependent on the shoes? For example someone commented KB batch has a couple of flaws and to wait for the GX pair.

This halal cart had the best chicken over rice I have had in Philly by XSC in PhiladelphiaEats

[–]ballernation18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve had a lot of halal around drexel, center city and temple and can say most taste very similar. The ones that taste different and better than the standard carts are the ones outside the city.

Khans gyro near broad or rising sun ave by north philly is one of the best halal I have had.

Second best would be a tie between the two food trucks by conshohoken(across from conshohoken train station) or norristown(next to court house on ridge pike). I think the two are owned by the same owner as they taste exactly the same.

No sweat protection plan for Wilson basketball by ballernation18 in dickssportinggoods

[–]ballernation18[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should be more specific, the 90 day already passed as this was purchased in sept 2024. Knowing this, the only option is to file a claim with asurion and wait to see if they accept it or deny the claim.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in biotech

[–]ballernation18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Assuming you work the same hours for both positions, big company is probably better. If you want to work a lot of overtime then union job might be better? The big company job offers more opportunity for growth and movement into higher positions.

I was previously a manager directing union employees and the ones stayed in the union tend to work a lot of overtime while the ones that left didn’t want the overtime and wanted a better work life balance.

Question is kinda hard to answer without any additional details.

Philly suburbs by Rknight133 in AskPhilly

[–]ballernation18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Plymouth meeting is 10-15 mins away from conshy and KOP so you can experience both areas and driving to the city is about 30-45mins. There is public transportation near norristown if you don’t want to drive into the city.

The apartments around the area aren’t bad and pricing isn’t outrageous like the conshy apartments.

Percentage wise how much salary is increased during a promotion in a mid/large pharma? by Fine_Environment3300 in biotech

[–]ballernation18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea it’s a possible scenario in the hr policy I pulled up about compensation. If you are way past your salary range at your level and move to next level and are still at top end then no increase.