For those students interested in science but don't see themselves in a lab or as a provider in one the health service professions, a career in scientific sales could provide a very rewarding alternative career path. Memphis provides a rich environment for a career in scientific sales. The community is home to numerous hospital systems such as Baptist Memorial Health Care, Methodist/LeBonheur Healthcare, Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED), St, Francis Hospital, Veterans Administration Medical Center, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
In addition, a number of bioscience research initiatives and biomedical manufacturing companies are located in Memphis. The Mid-South is emerging as one of the leading centers for bioscience in the nation. Helping to lead this effort is the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, a nonprofit organization, that is executing a methodical business plan that leverages the area's impressive competitive strengths while expanding the infrastructure, educational opportunities and entrepreneur support needed grow the bioscience industry.
Bioscience is changing the world. It is the fastest growing industry in the United States. Additionally, the healthcare job market is expected to rank among the top three growth areas for years to come.
At CBU, a career in scientific sales can be pursued either with a major in Marketing and support courses in science, or with a major in
Natural Science
with support courses in business.
The four courses we recommend in business to support the science courses in the Natural Science degree are:
MKTG 311
Principles of Marketing This course provides the foundation for all future courses in sales.
MKTG 334
Market and Consumer Behavior This course provides the student with the understanding of how customers make their decisions.
MKTG 338
Selling and Sales Management This course looks at the details of personal selling and management tools needed in the sales profession.
MKTG 348
Business to Business Marketing This course is recommended for scientific sales since most of scientific sales are to businesses, physicians, or physician groups rather than direct to consumers
Medical/Healthcare sales positions almost always require some type of previous sales experience. To help with this, students can take MKTG 400
Marketing Internship where we will help them find an internship with a company that is involved in scientific sales or a related field.
On the Sciences side, in addition to the basic courses in biology (BIOL 111
&
112
with labs), chemistry (
CHEM 113
&
114
with labs), and Physics (PHYS 201
&
202
with labs), and their senior research, we recommend that students choose their science electives from the following courses:
BIOL 217
&
218
(with labs) Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II (has a prereq of BIOL 112 and a coreq of CHEM 113)
BIOL 236
Nutrition (has BIOL 112 as a pre-req)
BIOL 413
(with lab) Parasitlogy (has a prereq of BIOL 112)
CHEM 211
&
212
(with labs) Organic Chemistry I & II (has a prereq of CHEM 114)
BIOL 312
(with lab) Vertebrate Physiology (has prereq of CHEM 211)
BIOL 321
(with lab) Microbiology (has prereq of BIOL 112 and CHEM 211)
BIOL 367
Pharmacology (has a prereq of CHEM 212 and one of BIOL 217, 218 or 312)
BIOL 415
(with lab) Immunology (has a prereq of BIOL 112 and CHEM 212).
Scientific sales careers are competitive, but a background in both science and marketing should provide the competitive advantage for both entry into the career and for future advancement in that career.
If you have any questions, please fee free to e-mail the Dean of the School of Sciences, Dr. Johnny B. Holmes
at jholmes@cbu.edu
, or the Dean of the School
of Business, Dr. Dale Bails at
dbails@cbu.edu .
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