Pharma Is A Rising Industry with Several New Career Options

says Dr. Amrit Karmarkar, Pharma Entrepreneur, and TEDx

Speaker

Dr. Amrit Karmarkar (Speaker, Trainer, Counsellor, Life Coach, and Director -
InClinition)

Insights

1. Income in this profession is initially low. However, with experience, income rises
beyond your imagination.
 2. In research-based studies such as Pharma, what matters more is how much time
you do research work. In most of the cities like Mumbai, where traveling time is
greater, the student gets far less time to do research work.
3. This is a rising industry with very bright future. With an increase in income, several
people can afford better health care. All of this ensures a very good career with a
secured job.
4. Work culture in Pharma industry is generally employee-oriented. One gets the
medical benefit, pensions funds, paid leaves etc.
5. It is a very small industry wherein everyone knows each other. Therefore, it is easy
to get good jobs and business, if you have developed contacts.
6. As the number of pharma colleges has recently seen an upsurge, there are several
graduates who are struggling to get a job. Those graduates need to up-skill
themselves.
7. Don’t run after famous and large companies for a job. In pharma industry, small
companies teach you a lot in a short lifespan.

Profile Details

Name – Dr. Amrit Karmarkar

Profession – Speaker, Trainer, Counsellor, Life Coach, and Director — ​InClinition

Age – 31

Gender – Male

City – Dombivli (Mumbai)

Industry – Pharmaceuticals/ Clinical Research/ Training and Public Speaking

LinkedIn – ​https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-amrit-karmarkar-a75aba10/hi

Where have you been born and raised?

I was born in Sangli, in Western Maharashtra. My family moved to Karad, a small city in

1989. I have two elder sisters. My mother, who was working in Bank of India, wanted me to
become an all-rounder. She made me learn swimming, singing and even taught me

Sanskrit scriptures like Atarvashirsha. My mother would take me for swimming lessons at 5

am at a nearby river. I also learned classical music for 12 years.

My father had a job outside the city, which allowed him to visit us only on weekends. He

taught me Ram Raksha and Vishnu Sahastranama.

I went to Tilak HighSchool, Karad, one of the oldest schools in the city. During my school

days, I did trekking, bird watching, and jungle reading at around 10 different sanctuaries in

India. After that, I went to Yashwantrao Chavan College of Science for 11th and 12th.

I then did B.Pharm. from Govt. College of Pharmacy Karad (Estd. 1964).

What is your family background?

I belong to a middle-class family. My father comes from a poor family. He worked in Sangli

Bank as an officer. My parents taught us the value of money. As both parents were working,

we used to wait for mother to come from bank/office. We lived in a building that was 350

years old and it belonged to my mother’s forefathers. We shared that house with our

maternal uncle who was a great support to our family.

Who all had the most influence on you and how?

List of persons who influenced me is endless. My father taught me anger-management,

writing skills, personality development, and kindness.

Dr. Sanjay Pujari, a National Award winner, transformed me as a child. Because of him, I

became an extrovert and outspoken child.

Dr. Agavekar, who was our family physician, taught me that patient needs to be treated with

humanity. He also helped me understand basic things about diseases.

Dr. Gonjari (my guide) and Dr. Hosmani sir taught me fundamentals of research, especially

research integrity, ethics, and practical skills in Pharmacy.

Mr. Avinash Deodhar helped me in my entrepreneurial journey by guiding me from time to

time.

Please give us a summary of your career.

I completed B.Pharm from Govt. College of Pharmacy, Karad. I worked very hard during

this time. I would work late into the night, sometimes till 3 am with Dr. Gonjari and Dr.

Hosmani on different research projects. I stood 1st in my college and 4th at Shivaji

University, Kolhapur.

After BPharm, I joined ​Rubicon Research Pvt. Ltd.​ as formulation Scientist in R&D and then

worked in ​Arnita SEZ​ as Project Pharmacist for designing facilities of various company’s

manufacturing plants.

After this, I joined MSc Clinical Research from ​Cranfield University, Bedford, UK​. I scored

well and was given an award of merit criteria. During the same time, I did PGDM in Clinical

Research too.

Immediately after MSc, I joined the Ph.D. programme in Clinical Research from the

University of Central Nicaragua​.

I acquired Certifications such as ​Dale Carnegie Institute​ USA’s Train the Trainer and Six

Sigma Yellow Belt from MSME, Govt. Of India. I have also done Life Coach Certification.

From 2012, I started InClinition, a pharma services and training company which offers a

range of training programs to graduates and undergraduates in order to bridge the gap

between industry and academia.

In May 2018, I was invited as TEDx Speaker at ​TEDx Kharghar​ event.

Till date, I have trained around 8000+ professionals and students on various topics of

pharmacy and other life skills including management.

Which institutes are best for the education/training of this

profession?

For studying in Pharmacy education, you need to understand that institute does not matter

much. One must consider that how much time your college allows you for research work. In

most of the cities like Mumbai, where traveling time is greater, the student cannot

concentrate on studies of Pharmacy.

According to me, ​Govt. College of Pharmacy, Karad​ is one of the best in Maharashtra as it

has a large pool of alumni and strong alumni association. Even, Govt. Colleges at

Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, and Amaravati are good.

NIPER at Mohali​, ​NDMVP Samaj College of Pharmacy​, Nashik and ​UDPS Nagpur​ are good

colleges too.

One must consider college on the basis of its facilities, faculties, and strong alumni network.
For clinical research, there are no good colleges in India at par in syllabus or teaching as

that in the UK. But private institutes like my company ​InClinition​ provide these courses at

affordable costs.

What are the costs associated with the education/training of this

profession?

Govt. Colleges charge 16,000 to 22,000 INR per year for BPharma course. Private Colleges

charges 80,000 to 2,00,000 INR per year for the same course. Costs vary widely from the

location of college to reputation of that college.

For clinical research, costs range from 50,000 INR to 5,00,000 for PG Diploma courses.

How does one enter in this profession?

Gone are those days, when only BPharm was sufficient to get the job. As our college

education in India does not have syllabus at par with industry needs, there is a tremendous

gap in industry and academics.

Therefore, one needs to do courses from finishing schools.

While selecting a college, review institute’s profile, placements, facilities like e-library and

app-based learning, curriculum having latest courses such as relevant software.

The education should not be theoretical but should be assignment-based or activity-based

learning.

A BPharm graduate has several options to choose from. Even B.Sc Chemistry, Botany,

Zoology, Biotech, Biochem, Bioinfo, Biomedical students can enter Pharma industry.
Therefore, there are several courses such as ​Clinical Research​, ​Pharmacovigilance​,

Regulatory Affairs​, Packaging technology, industrial processes, ​Quality control​ and

assurance, pharma-economics, management and many more.

There are courses like ​PG Diploma in Advanced Pharmacy (PGDAP)​ which provide overall

exposure to these fields and after this, you can opt for one subject as specialization.

I also recommend that after 3–4 years of experience, you should do certification exams like

PMP, ​Six Sigma​, and TTT, etc.

What is the range of remuneration one can expect when starting

out in your line of career & industry?

Starting Out — 1.8 to 4 lakhs INR per annum

5 years of experience — 6 to 10 lakhs INR per annum

10 years of experience — 15 to 30 lakhs INR per annum

15 years of experience — 30 to 50 lakhs INR per annum

Remember, this all depends on how you upgrade your skills, how you keep yourself on the

track and how your experience actually adds value to the field.

Please describe your work.

My normal work day is very hectic. I wake up at 5 am and call it a day at around 11 pm. I

work 7 days a week. This is due to the fact that starting up a company in pharma domain is

difficult as you require proper qualifications, compliance with audit and regulatory

requirements and even following many laws of government.

My responsibilities can be divided into medical writing and regulatory affairs activities,

meeting with clients, contracting with them, writing of documents and reviewing them,

reviewing translations work, vendor audits, training professionals, development of e-learning

content, designing website, assisting in human resource work, monitoring day to day

activities of staff, Administration of finances for InClinition (Deposits, Expenses,

Investments, etc.), Computation and filing of income tax returns and GST returns.

What are some of the positives, which would encourage

someone to consider this career/job?

The biggest positive is that I am doing what I always wanted to do; being an entrepreneur.

1. Salary is low initially but rises after 5/10 years. It is then better than salaries in IT
industry.
2. This is rising industry with very bright future. With an increase in income, all humans
can afford better health care. All of this ensures a very good career with a secured
job.
3. Work culture in Pharma industry is generally employee-oriented. One gets the
medical benefit, pensions funds, paid leaves etc.
4. It is a very small industry wherein everyone knows each other. Therefore, it is easy
to get good jobs and contracts, if you have developed contacts.

What are some of the challenges that you would want someone
to be aware of when considering a career in Pharma industry?

1. One of the biggest challenges is that this profession doesn’t pay well in the initial few
years.
2. Another challenge is that one has to work in shift duties (night duty) and even
sometimes travel to remote locations for technology transfer or marketing-based
activities.
3. One has to continuously keep upgrading oneself with certifications, PG Diplomas,
etc. to keep up with the ever-changing industry.
 4. As the number of pharma colleges has recently seen an upsurge, there are several
graduates who are struggling to get a job. Those graduates need to up-skill
themselves.

What are the relevant trends/skills/technologies that are currently

commanding a premium in your job profile?

As entrepreneur and trainer by profession, skills that command premium includes great

communication skills, certifications like ‘Train the Trainer Certification from Dale Carnegie

Institute, USA’, Project Management, software like Tally, BUSY accounting software,

Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM) etc.

What kind of person would be happy in your career?

The person who would be happy should have the attitude to learn new things. Probably, this

is most important innate quality to be happy in this profession, as this industry is changing

continuously.

Also, a person who is calm and hardworking will love this field.

People from even farmers’ background and many people from poor economic background

have got rewarding careers in the pharmaceutical domain.

Given another choice, what would you do differently as far as

your professional selections are concerned?

If provided with choice, then I would want to become a chef and open my own cafe. This is

my childhood dream.
Also, being very careful about my styling and dressing, I could open a styling studio which

can provide services such as grooming, dressing and image management.

Even sometimes, I feel to live sustainable life by doing farming to generate whatever we

need in life.

What would be your advice to students or professionals who are

just starting their journey on a path similar to yours?

First of all, you need to get a degree with good marks. Taking experience is also important.

If you want to become an entrepreneur, then don’t think what society will say. Put your

efforts to maximum; stretch yourself and don’t think about earning money. Money always

follows the passion.

Don’t follow career paths blindly. Even small companies teach you a lot in short lifespan.

Network with great personalities, study hard in college, participate in academic

presentations and other competitions, learn through add-on courses, and ultimately

assimilate a skill, which helps you stand out from the crowd.

If you are interested in reading more about Pharmaceuticals industry, ​click here​.

You may also like to check out ​our conversation with Mr. Sunil Acharya​ (Regional Director

of Quality System and Compliance at Abbott)

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