What it does: Global pharmaceutical group of companies involved in research and manufacturing.
Best known for: Being the largest private pharmaceutical corporation in the world.
Staff stats: Approximately 50,000 employees across 147 affiliate companies.
The good bits: Professional & flexible work environment.
The not so good bits: R&D has a top-down approach where management has more decision-making opportunities.
Started by Albert Boehringer in 1885 as a small tartar factory in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany, the company started by manufacturing tartaric acid. This is a crucial component in producing baking powder and carbonated beverages. Within a few years, the company started manufacturing citric acid and the lactic acid at an industrial level.
During this time, future Nobel Prize winner, Professor Heinrich Otto Wieland, helped to set up the research department at Boehringer Ingelheim. Entering the animal health industry, Boehringer Ingelheim also began manufacturing pharmaceuticals by founding various subsidiaries. By the 1960s, the group that was started in a small city in Germany was expanded to Greece, and across the ocean in North America.
Job openings are regularly updated on the official website of Boehringer Ingelheim (BI). The four functional channels across which jobs are divided are research & development, manufacturing, commercial, and enabling functions. Aspiring candidates are advised to carefully filter jobs according to these streams and location before making an application. An employee referral also proves to be fruitful in getting hired at BI.
Depending on the location where the applicant is applying, the process may take anywhere between one day to one month. For graduates in the field of business & management, generally, candidates are directly called for rigorous interviews with upper management from BI. Prior to this, a telephone interview may be required, depending on the location of the candidate.
Candidates are advised to hone their soft skills since they are expected to be able to answer questions about work ethics, professional engagements, and personal interest in the respective field. Potential employees are also expected to know about the pharmaceutical industry and the place of BI in it. There may be three to four rounds of interviews, including one with HR, and each may last for about an hour.
For graduates from science, the process may start with a telephone interview with HR or senior research directors. The next step would be an on-site interview, which may be with a panel of scientists or taken in the form of a seminar. Candidates are expected to answer behavioural questions in addition to having knowledge about the subject. The questions during the interview are generally not difficult. In the seminar format, the candidate is expected to give a small presentation on a topic of their interest to a team of scientists, followed by a discussion on the topic. The entire process is designed to vet if the candidate will fit into the lab dynamics and ethics. For most roles, an on-site interview is almost always a requirement, therefore, candidates must be prepared to visit the office of BI where they plan to join.
Employees of BI may choose to move to other global corporations working in the pharmaceutical industry like AstraZeneca, Abbott, IQVIA, and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. Within the company, employees will have a chance to take advantage of the many collaborations BI facilitates with universities for MBA, postdoctoral programs, and certifications. Such benefits exist for junior employees, as well as senior executives, who are encouraged to apply for the many leadership programs BI runs so that they can expand their responsibilities or advance career paths. BI also fosters a global environment, encouraging employees to consider careers abroad within the company.
BI pays approximately the industry standard in most roles. Junior managers may earn somewhere between ₹4,50,000 to ₹6,00,000 annually. For senior management positions, the annual income may go up to ₹30,00,000. Similarly, junior researchers may earn anywhere between ₹4,00,000 to ₹5,00,000 annually depending on work experience or university prestige, which may rise as high as ₹10,00,000 to ₹15,00,000 per year. IT employees earn approximately ₹50,000 per month depending on seniority and experience.
Employees generally have positive things to say about working at BI. In spite of strict processes standardised globally, there is flexibility as far as working hours are concerned. Roles & responsibilities are clearly defined, and work-life balance is privileged in the workspace. Particularly in India, there is also scope for faster growth. However, certain researchers may find that management is inclined to approach issues in a top-down manner, which means that R&D may sometimes suffer. This may be a reason why employee retention within research roles is low.
BI mainly contributes socially in India, developing projects that involve communities issues of health and wellness. The BI CSR team in India, for example, organised a cleanliness drive around a municipal school and planted trees to improve the environment where students study. A similar beach-cleaning effort has also been made in India by BI CSR. In addition to this, BI has also been responsible for conducting youth outreach programs to educate students about leading a healthier lifestyle.
With a global standardisation of processes, BI can be a good place to start a career in research or management. However, employees should make note that for R&D, there may be better companies for senior researchers in India.