<p>If one wants to work in a pharmaceutical/biotechnology company (mainly for research), does he/she need to go to a graduate school for a Ph.D?</p>
<p>Depends…do you want to “work” for one of those companies? With a BS that would mean basically the grunt work and always being a staff member, etc.</p>
<p>Or, do you want to work for the company in a high level capacity. Running a research team, doing your own research, etc. If that’s the case you would need a PhD…maybe a MS at the very minimum (with lots of experience to go with it).</p>
<p>^Not necessarily. While it is true that there is a glass ceiling for BS/MS level scientists in some pharma companies, this really depends a lot more on the culture. At the two biotech firms I worked for, there were people with bachelors, masters of business administration, medical degrees, juris doctorates and Phds in the ranks of the management. A Phd will help you enter industry at a different level than you would with a BS/MS but over the course of a career, I don’t think it is an insurmountable barrier to advancement.</p>
<p>Need to? No.
Recommended? Of course.</p>