How difficult is it to find a biomedical research job in the Silicon Valley?

Hi Katia,

As a former Bay Area resident myself, I can say that there are actually a few companies engaged in biomedical research in that area. It is not the predominant industry, but there are a number of big and small companies in the area. Several big pharma companies operate in the Bay Area. Genentech, Amgen, and Bio-Rad come to mind. I believe many of the smaller concerns are also involved in pharma, developing technologies that may get purchased by larger companies.

If you want to do real, academic research, the Bay Area has more to offer. Institutions like Stanford, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and UCSF are premiere life science research institutes. To do research at these institutions, you would want to pursue a PhD or post-doctoral fellowship. If you choose to go that route and want to stay in California, I would also look at UC Davis, Santa Barbara, and San Diego.

Hello Guys

As per my knowledge it is little difficult for one to find a biomedical research job in SIlicon Valley.It will really depend on what you can offer firms in terms of value. CA (Silicon Valley) is the perhaps the most dynamic region of the U.S and they are typically #1 in terms of applications for H-1B visa. Companies in that region are aggressive and progressive. Some may hire you and risk losing you as an employee due to the visa lottery if you have unique strengths and skills and they need you. It's tough to find the right talent. There's always competition for top candidates.