ClinInvent's Desouza: The spotlight is on Indian CROs	Neeman's Anwar: It's all about being a good learner

For thirty-three-year old Liju Subramanian, Project Manager at Mumbai-based Wellquest Clinical Research, a contract research organisation (CRO) that does research/clinical trials for global pharmaceutical companies, pursuing an MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (jbims), Mumbai, means much more than she is willing to admit. A science graduate with over four years of experience in clinical research, an MBA from a good school may be all Subramanian needs to put her career in overdrive.

With huge time and cost advantages in performing clinical trials in India compared to the US or UK, the nascent CRO industry is inundated with work, with as many as 250 to 300 clinical trials currently underway in the country, compared to just about 80 a year or two ago. "Product patents (India changed its patent law, with effect from January 1 this year in keeping with its commitments to the World Trade Organization) has brought about a sense of great comfort to multinational pharma companies, that were otherwise reluctant to outsource their clinical trial work to India," says Harpal Singh, Chairman, Oscar Research, a division of SRL Ranbaxy, another CRO.

Why, even multinational CROs based in United States and Europe are outsourcing work to Indian CROs now. This and the country's heterogeneous population, the presence of almost every disease known to mankind in India (and the consequent availability of patients) is making CROs the next big business process outsourcing opportunity.

With estimates suggesting that Indian CROs will handle around two million subjects (industry parlance for healthy and sick patients who are administered the drugs) in the next five years, it is not surprising that the industry that currently employs just about 30,000 people, is looking to create over 40,000 to 45,000 new jobs every year for the next four to five years. "The need for getting drugs to the market faster and cheaper is putting the spotlight on Indian CROs and as a result, potential for career growth in clinical research is immense," says 26-year-old Margaret Desouza, an MSC in Life Sciences and a Clinical Research Site Manager with ClinInvent Research, a CRO for Pfizer.

"There is already a crippling crunch of people at most CROs. Sadly, even sub-standard people are getting hired," says Brijesh Regal, Director, Apothecaries, a Delhi-based CRO. Imagine then, the growth potential for people with relevant experience and right qualifications, much like Wellquest's Subramanian or ClinInvent's Desouza, in an experience-scarce job market.

SRL Ranbaxy's Pandhi: Honesty is critical

One Pill, Many Jobs

What's best with CRO outsourcing is that jobs are being created across the skill hierarchy. From plain graduates who muster up subjects to pharmacologists, biochemists and doctors who administer and oversee drug effects during trials to statisticians that document and analyse field data. Even MBAs as project managers are in demand to coordinate time schedules, deadlines and execute commercial and legal agreements between subjects and CROs.

With more high-end work in phase three and four trials (testing of new drugs on humans) being outsourced to India now, CROs have even started looking out for PhDs in pharmacology, MBAs from the best schools for project managers, even people with experience in public relations for subject management and mobilisation. And experienced people are a prized lot, being pushed up to supervisory roles in their existing organisations and poached aggressively by competitors, with middle level salaries going upto Rs 20-lakh a year for a pharmacologist or a biochemist with just six to seven years of work experience.

No wonder motivation to learn and perform is high. "An employee in contract research has to have the ability to pre-empt, perceive, react and document all that happens on the field, and this means that one has to be a good learner," says 34-year-old Shariq Anwar, a medical graduate and Site Manager at Delhi-based CRO Neeman Asia.

Not Always Sweet

"It is ethical practices and rigorous procedures that has helped change (global) attitude towards clinical trials in India," says Ajoy Kumar, coo, Neeman Asia. But, boom time in business means the sector has also started suffering from the problems of plenty. These days, even nondescript pharma companies are setting up clinical research departments, and touting them as a 'world-class CRO' just to cash-in on the boom. "The lack of an entry barrier in this field is alarming. One bad report can ruin the party for all," says Chadrashekhar Potkar, Director (Clinical Research), Pfizer.

He is right, for it is very easy for the entire trial to be derailed by a minor mistake, by accident or intent, by anyone across the chain. More than anything else, CROs are making their employees go through intense training sessions on good clinical practices to meet with international clinical testing norms. Most CROs either have in-house trainers or outsource to companies such as Apothecaries.

"In this business, employees need to be honest for there is a huge scope to manipulate data, which may alter results completely," says 29-year-old Shaloo Pandhi, Senior Medical Officer at Oscar Research. In clinical testing, it would seem data-integrity stems from employee-integrity.

COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!

I am a 36-year-old engineer with work experience of over 10 years. Besides having a degree in MBA (Finance), I also have an exceptionally strong number faculty, analytical and logical reasoning ability, and communication skills. I have been running a mid-sized IT services business in Chandigarh for quite some time and now want to pursue my passion, which is to become a financial analyst. How do I go about it? Should I undertake a course like CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)? Also, will such a career switch necessarily mean relocating elsewhere?

Although it will be difficult to get into a second career at this stage of your life, it is not impossible. The CFA course will definitely help you in brushing up your fundamentals. Then, you need to look for a job where your previous experience will not get unnoticed. Also, you will face a lot of competition from the newer lot of MBAs, many of whom may have direct experience in the sector. The best way to counter all this is to first work for someone who knows your inherent capabilities. And by the way, Chandigarh, unfortunately, is not the best place for a career in finance. So you might very well have to relocate.

I am a 20-year-old final year BBA student. My family wants me to go in for an MBA after graduation, but I am more interested in pursuing a post-graduate diploma in fashion management. I would like to know whether this course has any scope in terms of a career, given my BBA background. Also, are there any good/reputed institutes that offer such a course?

Fashion management is a good course if you want a career in fashion. Unfortunately, the fashion industry in our country is neither organised nor professionally-managed and hence it might present a great opportunity for an entrepreneur but not necessarily a professional. There are various institutes that offer courses in fashion designing-from the National Institute of Design (NID) to the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Many polytechnics also offer fashion-related courses. What's more, with your BBA background, you could easily get a job with either a garment export house or the retail industry.

I am a 30-year-old BCom graduate working with an MNC. I am doing quite well in my present job, where I look after accounts, costing, budgeting and so on. However, I am now thinking of launching a business-related website, but don't know how to go about it. Also, my financial position isn't all that good so I can't quit my present job. Should I contact a venture capitalist or a bank for funds to start the project or can any existing IT company help me? Please advise.

First of all, you need to do some research on how tenable your idea is. An it company can help you develop and implement the software that you may require to run the website. In fact, with a little bit of learning as well as investment, you could do it yourself, especially if it is only a content-related website. If, however, you are thinking of this as a commercial proposition, then you need to put together a business plan-where will your revenue come from and how much? I must also warn you that with the dotcom bust, venture capitalists and banks have become quite sceptical. And finally, don't leave your job in a hurry-burn the midnight oil instead!

I am a 24-year-old graduate and want to develop a long-term career in exports. In fact, I am even thinking of setting up my own export company. However, I have no idea on how to go about achieving this goal. Should I go in for a course in export-import or opt for an MBA in international business? Also, does one need hands-on experience rather than any educational qualification? How much capital is required to set up an export firm? I come from a middle-class family and getting any financial support from home would be difficult.

An MBA in international business along with a specific course on export documentation will arm you with enough skills on how to run/manage a business. You also need to build contacts and networking by either working for an export house or developing them yourself (through internet or a venture capital partner). But first, you will need a business plan. This will require research into products, markets, customers, opportunities and threats. Remember, unless you have a business plan, bankers or venture capitalists will not lend you the required funds.

Answers to your career concerns are contributed by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055..

The Lure of IT Lives On
Engineering students are still smitten by the IT bug.

It seems that the more things change, the more they remain the same. For instance, while traditional industries such as steel, chemicals, steel, construction and infrastructure are creating a large number of new jobs for engineers, the mood in the engineering campuses continues to remain skewed towards it.

ACNielsen Campus Track, a survey of engineering students across the country, shows that they have a marked preference for jobs in software and it consulting firms. Not just the class of 2005, even next year's batch, the class of 2006, has this bias towards it.

Whilst most heavy industries score badly, consumer-facing industries such as auto, consumer durables and telecom fare much better, with around a third of all students interested in joining a telecom or an auto company. Diversified companies such as Tatas and Reliance score better than management consultancies, perhaps because greenhorns hanker for practical industry experience over the ambiguous world of consultants. Then, what would explain it consulting firms figuring right on top of the list? The prefix, of course.

-Shailesh Dobhal

The Google Of Indian Job Sites
Try Bixee.com for searching 16 Indian job sites.

Bixee's here: All jobseekers need to do is simply click

Tired of searching and applying for a new job across a few dozen job sites? How about a search engine that can query several Indian job sites and provide you the results on a single click? "My wife's frustration at looking and applying at various job sites was, in a way, the trigger that led me to launch something like this," says one of the three founders of bixee.com, perhaps the country's first job search engine that tracks 16 sites-including biggies such as Naukri, Monster India, Jobstreet, Timesjobs, Jobsahead, Jobsbazaar and Careerkhazana.

Bixee is modelled on the lines of global job search engines like simplyhired.com, indeed.com and workzoo.com, though, unlike these, it does not accept applications for the queried jobs on the site. "Currently, there is no arrangement with these individual job sites, but we will get into it very soon to facilitate one point application to all jobs on our site itself," adds the founder, who wishes not to be named for he still works full time with a Bangalore-based it company and is negotiating with some venture capitalists for funding his venture. With 500 unique visitors and 100 new ones added every week, this job search engine is certainly catching on with jobseekers.

-Shailesh Dobhal