Life Sciences Careers in Illinois
Finding Your Future began as a research project. In early 2007, iBIO Institute partnered with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)to develop a better understanding of the talent pipeline and career opportunities within the life sciences community. The goal of Finding Your Future is to:
- Establish a baseline analysis of bioscience workforce pipeline across industry sectors, both business-side and science-side jobs
- Validate data with industry informants
- Inform students, parents, careers counselors, teachers, etc. about life sciences career opportunities
- Connect occupation figures with graduation rates by college major
- Use data to help industry and government predict pipeline shortages, develop new/retool education programs/majors, and focus recruitment efforts
The project focused on the 4 main life sciences sectors in Illinois: Agriculture Feedstock and Chemicals, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, and Research and Testing.
Twenty-four representatives from Illinois industry provided data on careers and career development. This research yielded a job compendium complete with job titles and descriptions, education and skill requirements, and salary ranges for each position.
DCEO provided real and projected employment figures for each position as well as the number of students graduating annually from programs of study at Illinois universities.
For students, the study demonstrates the importance and correlation of advanced education to higher salaries. The data provide a basis for introducing students to careers they have not yet considered and encourage them to pursue careers in more nascent areas of the life sciences industry.
The Finding Your Future project and data define the talent pipeline in Illinois. It can be used to identify gaps and optimize talent flow across science-based industries. It is our hope that this methodology will be replicated by other Midwest states (or other industries in Illinois) to develop a robust view of life sciences careers in the Midwest.
