Forrest Lykins ⋅ Wellsville, KS Johnson Controls JCI ⋅ 30 years experience

You might consider becoming a pharmacist. The field is growing, and demand is high. There are programs that can be completed mostly remote. Not sure if you want to do more education but the research opportunities with a Pharmacy sheepskin are very broad and lucrative.

Michelle Stoltman ⋅ Hanover, MD Northrop Grumman ⋅ 30 years experience

A lot of companies have a return to work program (for those returning after being out for several years).

AMY EFSTRATIOS ⋅ Haverhill, MA Beth Israel Lahey Health Hospital ⋅ 15 years experience

I would have to agree with one of the comments here about becoming a pharmacist. The demand is high and healthcare is a very rewarding industry to work in.

Maher Jarjour ⋅ Jacksonville, FL Amazon ⋅ 24 years experience

Hi Adam,

I would recommend to try the following two resources:

1. National Science Foundation, the link is on how NSF is supporting veterans and includes an email for Veterans Employment Coordinator: https://beta.nsf.gov/careers/job-types/programs-veterans

2. NASA Open Science, you can subscribe to receive emails and choose the related fields and opportunities you are interested in:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGCAbtfTC9Yx8vs-mJoVf4XUnhC_Kq4ip7llqlvd49eMfseQ/viewform

Linda Williams ⋅ Winnebago, NE U.S. Air Force, Airman First Class ⋅ 2 years served

Here is a resource to 'get back in the game' of STEM and start networking:

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USED/bulletins/2b7e506

This is an old newsletter, but sign up on the right side of the page, to receive future emails from the Department of Education STEM opportunities...

cathy salerno ⋅ Flemington, NJ Johnson & Johnson ⋅ 35 years experience

Hi Adam, there’s a lot of great advice here. One thought building off of what Francis said, a law degree with your background could open doors in patent law. Another thought is to look for jobs in technical or pharmaceutical sales.

Kristina Newell ⋅ Isle La Motte, VT Janssen Pharmaceuticals - Johnson and Johnson ⋅ 7 years experience

Hi Adam,

I am not a recruiter for Johnson and Johnson, however I have seen multiple job listings posted for our Re-Ignite program for individuals with a Stem degree but have been out of the field for a few years. I would suggest typing in Re-Ignite or Stem in the search field. JNJ also offers remote work for some fields as well. Also, LinkedIn would be a good start as well.

https://www.careers.jnj.com/

Maria Erchul ⋅ Spokane, WA Incyte Diagnostics ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi, Adam.
Clinical Pathology Laboratory (CPL) is a large lab and does several opportunities in the Las Vegas area.
The job requirements, for the science based roles are for the most part, set in stone.
It would be critical to have a relevancy experience to complement your science degree - for the Recruiter to easily identify the transferable skills.

While other labs in the area have operational roles (Phlebotomists) that can get you the experience for future opportunities and locations.
Thank you, for your service and hope you find the ideal position. Maria

Suyenne Jabido ⋅ Marlborough, MA Sartorius ⋅ 4 years experience

I cannot comment on biotech opportunities in LV specifically, but I agree with Scott in beginning from the ground up. Starting as an assistant in any type of lab will help you get experience and connections both.

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. ⋅ San Diego, CA THE CONDOR GROUP ⋅ 30 years experience

Good background. Have you any interest in Law School? I went nights and graduated. It can be done.

Law plus your education would open doors to senior executive management of major bio tech/med firms. Let me know.

Jeff Martin ⋅ Ashburn, VA The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ⋅ 25 years experience

I’d suggest that you network at the target company or industry. Use LinkedIn to find people already working there and reach out to them. Ask them the process they used to get hired and ask them to help you navigate the hiring process and if they are willing, ask them to submit you as a referral. These activities require much more time on your part but in my opinion would greatly increase your chances for success. Good luck!

Gary Rossi ⋅ Napa, CA The Coaches ⋅ 18 years experience

Or another way is to Network Using LinkedIn and ask for informational interviews which many people do not use - also connect with me to have access to my network - https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyrossibaldrigecoach/

Scott Goldman ⋅ Sudbury, MA KSQTherapeutics ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Adam,

As a vet with science degrees, I can attest to how difficult it can be to transition into those types of roles in the civilian sector. Nobody here will have a magic solution for you, but I can offer my $0.02 (which is about all this advice is worth) on things to think about.

First - biotech is just like any other industry, and there are two things that will help you more than anything else in securing a job: *experience* and *connections.*

So what do you do if you don't have either of those, but you do have aptitude and passion? Your only option is to build your experience and connections from the ground up. The easier part is building the connections. Use the directories other advisors provided to find businesses of interest in your location. Another resource you might find helpful is:

https://biopharmguy.com/links/company-by-location-southwest.php

Now hit up LinkedIn and find anyone you can with connections to those companies. Read about their jobs and, when you find one that's interesting to you and compelling, find contact info and reach out to that person for an "informational interview." Better yet, find a connection of your own who knows someone at one of those companies and have them e-introduce you. In my experience, most biotechies love to talk about their work and share their career experiences with others, and I've rarely had anyone turn me down when I've asked them to tell me more about their job and/or help me out with career advice. To improve your chances of positive responses, you may want to downplay the job-seeking angle and leverage other reasons for speaking (general career guidance; interest in a new field of work; maybe you can use your job as a teacher and explain that you're researching STEM roles to share with your students to inspire them; etc.).

Once you've made some connections, you have to figure out how to get the experience. I guarantee you at lease one of the companies on the lists that have been provided have entry level positions somewhere in their organization. My advice (which again, is probably worth every cent you're paying for it) is that once you've found a company you think you'd enjoy working for, take any job you can get there. Secretary; custodian; IT support guy; lab tech; cage-washer. Doesn't matter. The only way this works is if you set aside any pride or expectations and express a desire to work hard and do anything they ask because you just need to be part of their amazing organization.

Once you have a job in a biotech company, you're going to rapidly get to know lots of folks within the organization. Build those relationships. Let people know you have aspirations to do more. More importantly, make sure you kick ass and overdeliver in whatever role you've been hired into. If you do those two things successfully, I guarantee you'll be given greater opportunities and will eventually find your niche.

Good luck!

Richard Byrne ⋅ Hillsborough, NJ Intel Corporation ⋅ 53 years experience

Your cup runneth over:
Commercial job search "Biology" your location 44 jobs
https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Biology&l=Las+Vegas%2C+NV&redirected=1&vjk=2a57a8049cc84f2d
Another search
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/Biology/-in-Las-Vegas,NV?layout=wide_ltr
Commercial job search "Biochemistry" your location:
https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/las-vegas-biochemistry-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,9_IC1149603_KO10,22.htm
Fed Gov job search "Biochemistry" your location (6 jobs)
https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?l=Las%20Vegas%2C%20Nevada&k=biochemistry
Fed Gov job search "Biology" your location (18 jobs)
https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?l=Las%20Vegas%2C%20Nevada&k=biology&p=1&r=0

You might enjoy these sections of my EE webpage:
http://eehot.com/ee.html#biol
http://eehot.com/ee.html#biochem
http://eehot.com/ee.html#orgchem
http://eehot.com/ee.html#chem
http://eehot.com/ee.html#STEM
http://eehot.com/ee.html#networking - 1yr FREE premium LinkedIn for veterans
http://eehot.com/ee.html#mentoring

Joe Engle ⋅ Indianapolis, IN Electrical/Software Eng. + MBA ⋅ 30 years experience

Hello Adam. Great degrees.
Here is a link to biotech companies in LV
builtin.com/companies/location/las-vegas/type/biotech-companies

I would suggest you also check out remote positions. For example here is an indeed.com link for remote positions:
www.indeed.com/q-Biotechnology-l-Remote-jobs.html?vjk=0af0bd4c3cc94085
The salaries look to be quite good!

One direction might be to try remote positions, maybe remote contract positions. Get some experience and resume material, and afterwards you will also have a better vision of where to go with your degrees and an improved bioscience resume.

I feel that the pharma/biotech fields will be the high growth fields for the next twenty years. As you know these are very broad fields, from drugs and devices and nano technology to FDA trials and gene therapies. Hope you find your niche!

Many thanks for your service.