This used to be a great career; now, not so much. There has been a huge amount of consolidation in the industry akin to what we have seen in banking over the last 20 years. The qualifications to be a sales rep or Medical Liaison, as they are often called, have steadily gone up (having a doctoral degree in pharmacy and/or an MBA is not uncommon). If you don’t have these kinds of credentials you are facing stiff competition when the time comes time to find a job. Even if you have a great position you could quickly lose it when your company is bought by a parent who is looking to trim costs (those pesky employees are too well paid). One way to save costs is to let the Liaisons go and the ones who remain are tasked with covering more territory. If you used to cover a region like the Bay Area or South Florida suddenly you are tasked with covering the entire state or the 3-6 states in your region of the country. Ta daa; huge savings for the company! And more work for the Liaison who manges to still have a job.
If you manage to survive the layoffs you are still at risk because they could get rid of you in the next round. In addition to selling product, the job has basically become a game of musical chairs. Eventually, you may be left without a chair.
As in law, some reps make a huge amount of money, but you have to be lucky and really hustle to get into that tier of the profession, and at any point in your ascension it could all come crashing down when you are laid off. As mentioned above, you typically get a car to drive, but don’t think it will be anything high end. A good friend of mine has been laid off at least 3x times in the last four years and each time it has taken him longer and longer to land another job. He is very unhappy.
