Space Change from Lab to Device: Advice

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give a guy that is thinking of making a change from Lab to Device some advice please. I have been in Medical for over 12 years all in Specialty/Esoterics/Genetics lab. I am a Regional Sales Manager W2'ing between 185-225 plus car and package and all that stuff for the last 8 years or so. I am just so frustrated with the CMS cuts to our industry and pure bastardization of our space that I am thinking of starting again and going to rep and build a second career-- obviously because I would have to learn from the ground up I cant move right into management. What space of Device would you all advise I look to where I can keep my income around that amount considering I have a family and build a good base knowledge for a career? Companies, Product Line, Patient Type....etc etc??

Thanks,

 

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give a guy that is thinking of making a change from Lab to Device some advice please. I have been in Medical for over 12 years all in Specialty/Esoterics/Genetics lab. I am a Regional Sales Manager W2'ing between 185-225 plus car and package and all that stuff for the last 8 years or so. I am just so frustrated with the CMS cuts to our industry and pure bastardization of our space that I am thinking of starting again and going to rep and build a second career-- obviously because I would have to learn from the ground up I cant move right into management. What space of Device would you all advise I look to where I can keep my income around that amount considering I have a family and build a good base knowledge for a career? Companies, Product Line, Patient Type....etc etc??

Thanks,

You've got a good thing going, dont look a gift horse in the mouth. I'd stay put and ride that 200k out as long as possible

 

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give a guy that is thinking of making a change from Lab to Device some advice please. I have been in Medical for over 12 years all in Specialty/Esoterics/Genetics lab. I am a Regional Sales Manager W2'ing between 185-225 plus car and package and all that stuff for the last 8 years or so. I am just so frustrated with the CMS cuts to our industry and pure bastardization of our space that I am thinking of starting again and going to rep and build a second career-- obviously because I would have to learn from the ground up I cant move right into management. What space of Device would you all advise I look to where I can keep my income around that amount considering I have a family and build a good base knowledge for a career? Companies, Product Line, Patient Type....etc etc??

Thanks,

I don't blame you for looking at options. But the reality is most people outside of what you do are having the same frustrations with CMS, commoditization, etc. So the grass isn't always greener- but there are definitely pockets where it is- but they tend to be highly technical product lines that may require experience in that sector to get an interview. If they are not highly specialized and highly technical, I believe at a minimum they will be subject to being viewed as commodities by customers.
I think you may be making a mistake to go from being a manager to being a rep, unless you just do not like management anymore (totally understandable- to each his own). The reason I say this is you may take a paycut from roughly $200k down to $150k or so to break into a different space. So you have to do the math and determine how long it may take you to eclipse $200k again as a rep and figure out if it's worth the wait financially. You may have a better shot staying a manager and making the lateral leap within the industry to keep consistent income. If I were you I would be trying to interview for different management positions or at least attempt going for some sort of VP type position at a smaller company or start-up in a space you're interested in. Without knowing how long you have been a manager, how many folks you manage, your performance, etc. it is hard to determine if that is an option. But I would challenge you to think a bit more about going from manager to rep just because you want to change industries. My particular company is hiring managers from outside of our medical niche/product line in an effort to build the right team and right culture. I think there are lots of companies with the same mentality. Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't blame you for looking at options. But the reality is most people outside of what you do are having the same frustrations with CMS, commoditization, etc. So the grass isn't always greener- but there are definitely pockets where it is- but they tend to be highly technical product lines that may require experience in that sector to get an interview. If they are not highly specialized and highly technical, I believe at a minimum they will be subject to being viewed as commodities by customers.
I think you may be making a mistake to go from being a manager to being a rep, unless you just do not like management anymore (totally understandable- to each his own). The reason I say this is you may take a paycut from roughly $200k down to $150k or so to break into a different space. So you have to do the math and determine how long it may take you to eclipse $200k again as a rep and figure out if it's worth the wait financially. You may have a better shot staying a manager and making the lateral leap within the industry to keep consistent income. If I were you I would be trying to interview for different management positions or at least attempt going for some sort of VP type position at a smaller company or start-up in a space you're interested in. Without knowing how long you have been a manager, how many folks you manage, your performance, etc. it is hard to determine if that is an option. But I would challenge you to think a bit more about going from manager to rep just because you want to change industries. My particular company is hiring managers from outside of our medical niche/product line in an effort to build the right team and right culture. I think there are lots of companies with the same mentality. Good luck.

All good points, except I'd caution that breaking into device you may likely struggle to even hit $150k for a couple of years, particularly if you are in a new territory or part of some reorganization hiring that is pushing tenured high-earning reps out. Unfortunately, for similar reasons you're probably facing in your industry, devices "aint what it use to be". Healthcare services industry is one of the remaining segments that's actually growing, and capital equipment sales and cardio have always paid well. The latter two generally require specific technical experience but are also seeing declines in pay. Your best bet will be to network with people you know in the industry to find opportunities in devices where you'll get an honest shake rather than blindly posting to recruiters. Or, perhaps work with recruiters you trust who you've worked with to hire your own people previously.

 

[Anonymous]

Extremely good advise from everyone here so far. Thanks so much!

These points have all been very clear in my mind but im just so tired of battling this stuff its crazy. Its amazing to me how as soon as I get in my mid 30's and get damn good at what I do, as you say "it aint what it used to be" thats genetics and specialty lab as well. Without guideline backing these days with the NCCN-- forward thinking technology is annoying to sell bc the MD's believe in it but wont use it bc of potential cost repercussion to the patient from 3rd party. You just arent going to get paid well or at all and that makes dollars tight everywhere.

Anyway great advise. I look forward to anymore if anyone has any.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Extremely good advise from everyone here so far. Thanks so much!

These points have all been very clear in my mind but im just so tired of battling this stuff its crazy. Its amazing to me how as soon as I get in my mid 30's and get damn good at what I do, as you say "it aint what it used to be" thats genetics and specialty lab as well. Without guideline backing these days with the NCCN-- forward thinking technology is annoying to sell bc the MD's believe in it but wont use it bc of potential cost repercussion to the patient from 3rd party. You just arent going to get paid well or at all and that makes dollars tight everywhere.

Anyway great advise. I look forward to anymore if anyone has any.

Thanks

I would advise you to research the difference in spelling between "advise" and "advice". Other than that, it has all been said in posts above.

Joking aside, I do wish you luck. I understand what you are saying about the NCCN and feeling like you and the customer (and the patient) are penalized for forward-thinking technology due to things like reimbursement, etc. I promise you are not alone- this is the new world we live in. In the "other" medical sales arena- devices, etc - start-ups often have better technology than the big boys. They used to be able to play, but now things like contracting, getting on GPO's, paying admin fees, etc. are way more important than they used to be. It's very hard for the little guys to compete. Definitely frustrating.

 

[Anonymous]

I would advise you to research the difference in spelling between "advise" and "advice". Other than that, it has all been said in posts above.

Joking aside, I do wish you luck. I understand what you are saying about the NCCN and feeling like you and the customer (and the patient) are penalized for forward-thinking technology due to things like reimbursement, etc. I promise you are not alone- this is the new world we live in. In the "other" medical sales arena- devices, etc - start-ups often have better technology than the big boys. They used to be able to play, but now things like contracting, getting on GPO's, paying admin fees, etc. are way more important than they used to be. It's very hard for the little guys to compete. Definitely frustrating.

Yeah I wrote that quickly and I overlooked it but thanks for pointing that out.

Thanks for all the direction. Hell I even took a pharma corporate hr call this week! I dont know what to do. I miss the days where selling something in my industry impacted the patient and the MD's were excited to have a new tool. I guess im venting. Ill keep looking

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I wrote that quickly and I overlooked it but thanks for pointing that out.

Thanks for all the direction. Hell I even took a pharma corporate hr call this week! I dont know what to do. I miss the days where selling something in my industry impacted the patient and the MD's were excited to have a new tool. I guess im venting. Ill keep looking

If you miss the days where selling something impacted the patient and docs were excited with a new tool, why in the world would you consider pharma? I don't blame you for being frustrated but keep your end-goal in mind and don't even entertain something that doesn't accomplish that. There has to be some cool stuff emerging in the lab space I assume??