Amgen’s Rachael Harte and Barakat Raji explore the routes towards a career in bioprocessing and how they found themselves in their current roles.

There is no one way to find yourself on the route towards a meaningful career that gives you personal and professional joy, and it is rarely a linear path. For many, it takes time and persistence to uncover the aspects of a role that are most appealing, but also to investigate avenues that perhaps you had been aware of, but had not fully considered. 

This is certainly true for Barakat Raji, a bioprocess technician at Amgen, who explained that initially, as part of her undergraduate degree, she studied subjects outside of where she would eventually end up, as a means of pushing herself and exploring what else was possible. 

She told SiliconRepublic.com, “In college, I did an undergrad in biomedical science and then I did a master’s in microbiology, which has nothing to do with production at all, but I wanted to kind of go out of my comfort zone and it worked out well.”

Upon completing her master’s in microbiology, Raji was intrigued about the potential for a career in the manufacturing space; however, it was not an area that she had extensive knowledge of, so she took the initiative to carry out her own research. 

She said, “I wanted to get to know a little more about the manufacturing world. When I did see the job on LinkedIn, I had a little look. It did pique my interest a little bit and I went in, and that is why I got into the industry.”

Of what it takes to day-to-day, she finds that the requirements change, depending on what is needed. She explained that she may need to come in and complete a handover, be involved in the filling element of manufacturing at Amgen, or prepare for filling.

Raji said, “It’s a lot of computer work as well, and if I can do it, anyone can.”

Who is it for?

Of who might best be suited to a role in manufacturing, Rachael Harte, who started out in community pharmacy and who was recently promoted to a senior associate in manufacturing position at Amgen, noted that the role doesn’t necessarily demand an all-inclusive science background from the get-go. She herself continued her studies in pharmaceutical business operations upon joining the operation. 

She said, “The type of person that this role is suited [to] is somebody who is curious about the biopharmaceutical industry, someone who is ambitious. A science background isn’t essential – somebody who enjoys teamwork and collaboration.”

In terms of what people should expect during the early days of their role at Amgen, Harte urged professionals to take advantage of the company’s robust, welcoming and open ecosystem. 

“The on-the-job training is excellent in Amgen. You have a lot of support from both your peers and management. There’s people with 30 years’ experience here. The expertise and knowledge that they’re willing to pass down to you with over 30 years’ experience, you wouldn’t get it anywhere else.”

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