Biopharma professionals increasingly accept underemployment

Biotech and pharma professionals are increasingly taking biopharma jobs they’re overqualified for, according to a BioSpace LinkedIn poll this month. It found that 52% of respondents have recently chosen this form of underemployment, up from 44% in a March 2025 poll.

Julie Heneghan, president and founder of national life sciences recruiting firm The Steely Group, has also observed an increase. She told BioSpace that biopharma professionals have been taking jobs they’re overqualified for more often in the past 12 to 18 months. Some highly experienced people who previously would have held out for more ideal opportunities, Heneghan noted, are becoming more flexible on titles and scope of responsibility. Regarding titles specifically, she said her firm is seeing biopharma professionals prioritize stability over titles these days.

“A lot of them have gone through multiple layoffs in a short period, which doesn’t look great on your resume, but in biotech, we know it’s a thing,” Heneghan said. “So, many candidates now are less focused on prestige and more focused on finding organizations with runway, leadership stability and long-term potential, which, four to six years ago, that was definitely not the case.”

Biopharma job candidates are also considering whether opportunities they’re overqualified for will allow them to continue learning, contribute meaningfully and move their careers forward, according to Heneghan.

“I would say definitely there’s more humility and adaptability in the market than we saw four to six years ago,” she said.

When biopharma professionals do take jobs they’re overqualified for, Heneghan said their reasons include staying employed, maintaining healthcare benefits and remaining in the industry.

Employment can be a difficult hurdle for some in a job market characterized by continued layoffs, slow hiring and high competition. In discussing that market, Heneghan said venture capital and public-market pressures have changed hiring behaviors as companies delay programs, reduce burn rates and hire only for truly business-critical roles. She also noted that layoffs are flooding the market with highly specialized individuals.

“Suddenly, these employers have an abundance of experienced candidates competing for fewer opportunities,” Heneghan said.

Additional reasons biopharma professionals turn to underemployment include wanting better work-life balance, getting a foot in the door at a specific company and having limited job opportunities because they live outside of a biopharma hub.

Whatever the reason may be, one BioSpace LinkedIn poll respondent expressed doubt that it matters to prospective employers. Richard Garnica, a senior project management professional, commented, “People don’t seem to be interested in the story behind why someone would apply for a role that they are obviously overqualified for.”

When they do take roles that result in underemployment, Heneghan said biopharma professionals often initially feel disappointment, especially if they’ve spent years building toward executive leadership positions. She added, however, that most people are pragmatic about their situation once they get past the emotional reaction.

“I’d say the dominant emotion today is relief and then realism rather than frustration, because that’s what the market is bearing right now,” Heneghan said. “So, the candidates understand that this is like a market cycle, right? It’s not necessarily a reflection of their capabilities.”

For those concerned about how underemployment can affect their career trajectory, Heneghan said it depends on how people position the move—their narrative—and what they do with the opportunity.

“If someone stays engaged, and they’re performing well and they’re expanding their skill set and remaining visible within industry, I think a temporary step backward does not necessarily damage long-term career growth,” she said.

Heneghan shared two examples of Steely clients who viewed taking jobs they were overqualified for as temporary and strategic rather than as permanent career regression. The first involved a commercial executive who previously led a national sales team at the VP level for a midsize biotech. Following a restructuring that eliminated their position, they spent almost a year searching for another executive-level opportunity that was lateral or higher before accepting a senior director role at a smaller emerging biotech.

While on paper the job looked like a step backward in title and team size, Heneghan said, it had strategic advantages because it gave the senior director exposure to a new therapeutic area and to direct interaction with investors and executive leadership. They were also able to help build a commercial infrastructure from the ground up, she noted.

The second example involved a clinical operations leader who had previously managed global Phase 3 programs and large teams but was affected by layoffs. Instead of being out of work for eight to 12 months, they accepted an individual-contributor role, the only type of job available at that time.

“Their perspective was, ‘I’d rather stay current and visible in the industry than explain a prolonged gap later,’” Heneghan said. “A lot of employers at this point are not interested in those prolonged gaps or maybe don’t have as much of an appetite for those anymore.”

Those gaps are fairly common, according to a survey late last year that informed the BioSpace 2026 U.S. Life Sciences Employment Outlook report. The survey found that 49% of unemployed respondents had been out of work for at least six months and 26% for more than a year.

Ultimately, dealing well with underemployment comes down to mindset, according to Heneghan.

“The professionals we see that are navigating this the best typically are the ones that are treating these roles as intentional bridge opportunities,” she said. “So, they’re continuing to network, they’re staying visible, they’re building new experience and they’re remaining proactive about their long-term trajectory rather than becoming complacent and waiting for that perfect job 12 to 18 months.”