Starting In Biotech: An overview of biotech for the curious engineer
2 zkagin 3 8/26/2025, 4:45:41 PM blog.zkagin.com ↗
Comments (3)
zkagin · 4h ago
When I joined biotech five years ago, I wasn't sure where an engineer could contribute vs. where a biology PhD was needed. This is the guide I wish I had, a brief but hopefully comprehensive overview of the industry, examples where software and AI are contributing, and a framework to help inform which questions to ask next. Now is a fantastic time to join biotech, no PhD needed.
0x3f · 4h ago
I'm quite interested in biotech but are the salaries generally known to be poor? I can't believe some of the lowball offers I've gotten from biotech companies, compared to regular old software companies. Maybe they know the work is interesting and so discount accordingly?
zkagin · 4h ago
You're right that salaries have historically been lower in biotech (and many other "passion" industries, like gaming and education) than traditional tech, and that is perhaps exacerbated by the recent salary arms race in AI as well. That said, I've found that the biotech companies who view software/AI as a core competency pay pretty competitively with non-FAANG tech companies. If you're looking for a role, I'd be happy to share some companies actively hiring and that pay reasonably well (contact in my profile).