C&EN: EMPLOYMENT - WORKING IN EUROPE

SUSAN R. MORRISSEY, C&EN WASHINGTON

Attention, all chemists who are interested in finding a challenging position in a far-away land: Europe's pharmaceutical industry is accepting applications for highly skilled chemists who are willing to set sail for the Old World.


	SEPARATION A medicinal chemist helps AstraZeneca discover new drugs at its R&D facility in Loughborough, England. ASTRAZENECA PHOTO

Chemists with backgrounds in analytical, computational, medicinal, organic, polymer, physical, and process chemistry are all in demand by Europe's pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Companies with facilities across Europe, including England, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland, are looking for talented individuals.

"There are great opportunities available all across Europe," says Janet Heenan, director of human resources and facilities at Tripos Receptor Research in Bude, England. Tripos recently announced plans to significantly expand its research facility in Cornwall, England (C&EN, April 29, page 13). In general, companies receive applications from all over the world for open positions, and, as Heenan notes, "we give equal opportunity to everyone who applies, and we fairly select the best person for the job."

Living in Europe has a lot more to offer than just a challenging work environment. "There are wonderful opportunities to travel just a short way to experience different histories, cultures, arts, cuisine, and languages within Europe," says Heather Whitaker, human resources director for R&D at Amersham Biosciences' Amersham Place, England, office. "It is culturally very rich and exciting."

But before you begin packing your suitcase and buying a one-way ticket to Europe, there are a number of factors to consider. Things like cross-cultural sensitivity, work permit and visa requirements, and, not to mention, finding a good source of job listings can derail any dream of working abroad.

"Anyone thinking of working trans-Atlantic should look carefully at the differences, both practical and cultural, that they will encounter," Heenan warns.

Speaking from personal experience, Simon King, human resources director in global discovery at AstraZeneca's U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, Del.--and an Englishman currently working abroad in the U.S.--says: "A lot of it is being open-minded and being okay with looking foolish. You must have the desire to experiment and try things out and ask a lot of questions. If you have that mind-set and you're adaptable, then you'll find moving to a different culture really exciting."

THESE CONSIDERATIONS are also important to the companies.

"We don't want to bring someone from the U.S. to Geneva to fill a position and realize after three months that he or she cannot accommodate the difference in culture or the way of living," says Serge Halazy, worldwide head of chemistry at Geneva-based biotechnology firm Serono (see page 22).

To avoid this, most companies say that the personal attributes of the potential employee play an important role in their decision to hire someone to work abroad. Candidates must have the desire to learn about and live in a different culture, be flexible and adaptable to their surroundings, and be motivated and persistent in finding opportunities. In many cases, speaking a second language is also helpful.

Halazy advises candidates from the U.S. who are thinking about moving to Europe to "make sure they understand the culture of the place they want to go to--that is, the culture at the level where they are going to live, not the workplace." He stresses the importance of understanding the social culture because "it's the time you spend outside the lab that's living!"

Accordingly, "the candidate has to be ready to learn the local language--otherwise it will be very difficult," he notes. "Geneva is an international city, so you can get by with just speaking English, but if you live in a village outside the city, speaking only English could be a big problem."

The cultural divide is also clear to Mary Yaroshevsky-Glanville, director of human capital for Anadys Pharmaceuticals, in comparing the environment at the firm's San Diego facility with that of its Heidelberg, Germany, facility. "German culture is very different from American culture. The way in which people approach things is also different," she says. "For example, in Germany, it is very inappropriate for one person to give critical feedback to another person. That's part of their culture. It's like a mutual respect--if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all."

It's therefore important to hire people who will fit into this type of culture because "the last thing we want to do is hire someone who's incredibly technical, but is going to wilt at the thought of a diverse organization," Glanville says, echoing Halazy's concern. "It's important to hire based on a good cultural fit," she stresses.

Salary and benefits are also very different in Europe. As a basic rule, salaries in the U.S. are higher than those in Europe, but, as Adam Thomas, recruiting manager at Pfizer in Sandwich, England, points out, other benefits differ. For example, he notes that, in addition to differences in taxation and the health care system, the cost of education is much cheaper in Europe than in the U.S. because it is heavily subsidized by the government.

Anadys, with its offices in the U.S. and Germany, "tries to create a salary and benefits structure that is similar for both countries," Glanville explains. She notes that salaries in Germany are about 70% of those in the U.S., but this does not take into account the social benefits in Germany, such as more vacation time than in the U.S., which helps to balance things.

If one looks at the quality of lifestyle rather than just looking at the bottom-line figure, then "the U.K. and European markets can really put together a package that is equally as attractive as those in the U.S. market," Thomas says. The family-friendly benefits, the hours of work, and the conditions are factors that add to the appeal of the package, he explains.