The Right Fit: Contract Work Finds Increasing Favor Among Employers, Professionals

While full-time biopharma jobs far outnumber contract opportunities, only contract work has increased year over year, based on BioSpace data. From January 2025 to January 2026, contract job postings live on the BioSpace website rose 36.7%, while full-time jobs live dropped 11.3%.

Increased contract work is also reflected in recent BioSpace employment outlook reports. In the 2026 edition, 14.3% of respondents to a late 2025 career planning survey were on contracts. That’s up from 12.8% in 2024 and 10.6% in 2023.

Recruiting and talent acquisition experts have noticed the increase. During the “2026 Hiring Trends and Job Market Signals” webinar, Bryan Blair, vice president of biotech and pharma recruiting at GQR Global Markets, shared that in the past nine months, he’s seen a switch to this type of hiring.

“I probably am doing 30% to 40% more of my business on the contract side than permanent-side hiring, and this is generally with clients who have historically always went for full-time employees who are just going for a leaner workforce,” he said.

On a BioSpace LinkedIn poll this month about contract work, Melissa Grabiner, a biotech talent acquisition consultant, commented that most of the roles she fills for clients are contract.

In that poll of biopharma professionals, BioSpace found that of the 32% of respondents who took contract positions in the past year, 11% had not done that type of work before. Also, 40% of those who didn’t contract with companies during that time would consider doing so in the future.

As to why companies and biopharma professionals are increasingly embracing contract work, there are multiple reasons. For employers, in addition to being able to have leaner workforces, they can also ensure people are good fits before hiring them. For biotech and pharma professionals, some are having difficulty finding permanent roles in a tight and challenging job market either at the start of their careers or after layoffs. Others find contracting with companies fits well with their personal and professional goals.

Following are snapshots of three biopharma professionals’ experiences with contract work, from how they got into it to whether they see it as a long-term option for their careers.

Keith Tode, founder and CEO of KRT Global Advisory, has offered consulting and fractional services for the past three years but first did so in 2017, after being laid off. He told BioSpace that while he was going to take time off after losing that job, people started offering him high-paying project work. Tode said he accepted the offers in part because the money would be good. He also felt he could have a good work-life balance, choose projects that really excited him and do work that leveraged his expertise rather than just be “a cog in the machine.”

These days, Tode typically has three or four projects at a time with clients in North America and overseas. Right now, he’s under contract full time as an executive vice president, decentralized clinical trials, at AMC Health, which provides virtual care and remote monitoring services.

For Tode, one of contract work’s biggest pros is it doesn’t lock him into one technology or business.

“Just yesterday, a company approached me about a project, and the technology was so boring to me, and I knew that it had no potential for commercial success,” he said. “I’m not going to waste my time over the next five or six months working on what I personally think is a dud of a project.”

Contract work’s cons, according to Tode, can include marketing.

“I think for a lot of people within the industry that are not on the commercial side of the business—if you’re an SME, you’re a Ph.D., you’re an ex-regulator—there’s a certain level of discomfort of going out into the market and saying, ‘Here I am. Here’s what I can do,’” he said.

As to his long-term plans, Tode is keeping an open mind when it comes to contract versus full-time work.

“I think in a market that is so dynamic—and that’s just a polite way of saying volatile—right now, I have to keep my options open,” he said.

For a data management professional who requested anonymity, while he works at a biotech now, he’s previously done contract work and has experienced its benefits and drawbacks. He told BioSpace he first took on this type of role with a company several years ago as an entry point into biopharma. A few years later, he spent six months contracting as a senior clinical data manager for a large pharma.

The data management professional shared that he took the most recent contractor position because it paid more than if took the same role as a full-time employee at a biopharma or contract research organization. He noted that data management positions at the senior or principal level usually cap around $145,000, while contractors can earn up to $180,000.

The potential for higher pay is the best part of contract work, according to the data management professional. The downsides, he noted, include companies letting contractors go more easily than full-time employees.

“It’s just flip of a switch, ‘We don’t have anymore work for you,’ not an explanation for why they no longer need your services,” he said.

Another downside the data management professional shared is companies not always having the tools or expertise contractors need to be successful. He experienced that at the large pharma. He said the data management lead didn’t provide information he needed so he could do a gap analysis after the company received a corrective and preventive action.

While the data management professional had frustrations with his most recent contract role, he’s open to being a contractor again in the future. As to what would drive that move, he noted that while money is a motivator, mental health is also important.

“Some CROs or some pharma companies are just not up to snuff, and they’ll drive you nuts,” he said. “So, you always weigh ‘Is the money worth it? Is my mental health worth it?’”

Teri Nagel, principal and founder of Nagel Strategies, has been doing contract work for about six years. She works with leaders at growth-stage and mature life sciences companies, providing program management, process design and supplier management services.

Nagel told BioSpace the main reason she got into contract work is because her husband accepted a professional opportunity that required relocating. She also had interest in exploring entrepreneurship. Since founding her business, Nagel said she’s found that with day-to-day operations at companies falling to senior leaders, there’s a demand for a chief of staff–type person like herself who can find and fix issues as well as ensure everyone is rowing in the right direction.

As to her client mix, Nagel likes to work with one or two businesses at a time rather than be spread across several companies simultaneously. Right now, she has two clients: a growth-stage manufacturing company and a pharma. Because she deals with sensitive information, Nagel declined to name the businesses.

There are multiple pros and cons to contract work, according to Nagel. She said her biggest pro is that running a consulting business is stimulating and fulfilling, noting, “I’m proud of what I’ve built.”

Nagel also enjoys doing different types of work for clients.

“Sometimes, I’ll be deep into some cool project management software I use, like Monday.com for example, and building out the views, and then the next day, I’m facilitating a workshop with the people and kind of supporting negotiations on what’s going to happen when,” she said.

One of contract work’s biggest cons, Nagel noted, is the personal risk when first starting out.

“Leaving your corporate salary and leaving that steady paycheck and the benefits can be daunting,” she said. “And it’s not for everyone.”

As to the future, while Nagel has had clients approach her with job openings, she plans to stick with contract work.

“This is fulfilling in all the right ways,” she said.