What it does: Produces medicines, vaccines, biological therapies, and animal health products.
Mission: “We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world.”
Size and presence: 68.000 employees approximately
The good bits: Great deal benefits package. Many opportunities for advancement. Collaborative work within divisions.
The not-so-good bits: Highly demanding workload at some time.
The company was founded in 1891 by George Merck, it used to distribute fine chemicals across New York and nearby areas, and it was a subsidiary of the German drug manufacturer Merck Group. The company was then nationalized in 1919 and it started to operate separately from Merck Group.
In 1933, the company founded its first laboratory in Rahway, New Jersey. The lab would be conducting research divided into three divisions; Applied Research, Pure Research, and Merch Institute for Therapeutic Research. The company then finally succeeded in creating its first synthesized vitamin B1 in 1936. And later in 1943, Merck contributed to reducing tuberculosis-related death cases by 50% in the U.S., the achievement was due to a Merck-funded research program at Rutgers University. Five years later, Merck entered the animal health market by launching sulfaquinoxaline to the market.
Throughout the years of its operation in the U.S., Merck had been doing and funding numerous research that brought us drugs to treat various medical conditions, such as; Cortisone, PNEUMOVAX, Mefoxin, Vasotec, Recombivax HB (Hepatitis vaccine), and many more.
There will be a lot of cross-sectional work that requires employees to collaborate with each other within the workforce. Therefore, there will be a lot of things to learn for students and graduates during the internship. Merck also offers room for advancement. Many employees said that they’re having a friendly ambient in their office and meet with a lot of great co-workers. However, the workload may be tough at some point. There is also frequent reorganization that may require your constant attention. And as a big pharmaceutical company, Merck requires high expectations and accuracy for its employee, which probably felt unreasonably high for some.
Merck urges students and graduates to find the fittest role on its career page on the website since Merck has many programs for interns and graduates, therefore, each program will require different eligibility. Every requirement for each vacant full-time position and for internship opening will be uploaded on the website.
The company urged applicants to create a simple yet comprehensive resume to catch the recruiter’s attention. Put your selling point halfway through your resume. There will be three rounds of interviews if you are shortlisted; screening, interview with the hiring manager, and team/group interview. However, some roles and positions will require you to take an assessment, Merck stated that it’s typically for intern/graduate, Sales, Manufacturing Operations, and Leadership roles.
The whole recruitment process may take approximately weeks or a month on average.
There are several career areas in Merck that may be matching your expertise. Merck divided its department into; research & development, medical affairs, manufacturing & quality assurance, supply chain, clinical, engineering, IT, business support, policy & communications, regulatory affairs, marketing, and sales. Hence, career prospects at Merck are not limited only to those who graduate from the medical or science department.
Merck offers various programs for students, both undergraduate and graduate, to start off their careers. There is an Internship (9-12 weeks) and Co-ops (4-6 months) program, where students or graduates will work closely and be a part of a team inside Merck’s workforce. There are other entry-level and rotation programs for graduates to train themselves since Merck valued its employee’s advancement highly.
Entry level and rotation program specifically for graduates in Merck that may interest you includes; Manufacturing Leadership Development Program (MLDP), IT Emerging Talent Rotation (ETR) Program, and MBA Program with Impact.
Merck pays interns quite high, ranging from $4.000 to $8.000 monthly, depending on the roles and division. Research and research assistant interns may receive $4.000 to $7.000, data analyst receives $5.700, Co-op intern receives $5.000, business analyst receives $7.000, MBA intern receives $9.000, an engineering intern receives $5.500, and biostatistics intern receives $8.000 up to $9.000 monthly.
The permanent and full-time employees receive a higher amount. A scientist will be paid $99.000 annually, a pharmaceutical sales representative receives $95.000 with additional pay, an engineering specialist receives $98.000, a biologist receives $83.000, a staff chemist receives $94.000, and a research associate receives $80.000 annually.
Merck’s carrying out its social responsibility initiatives in four main areas; access to health, employees, environment, ethics, and values. However, one of the most essential contributions Merck had given was accelerating global access to its investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine during the pandemic. Merck granted a voluntary license to establish Indian generic manufacturers and the Medicines Patent Pool to facilitate the availability of a generic version of Merck’s medicine for low-income countries. Merck also made an agreement with UNICEF to allocate more than 3 million courses of therapy for low and middle-income countries.
It is common knowledge that medicine and healthcare service in America is probably the most expensive in the world. Pharmaceutical companies in America often received harsh critics for their practice of selling drugs to U.S. citizens. Merck is included. In October 2021, the media informed that Merch wanted to charge $712 for a Covid drug that cost only $17,74 to produce. The worse part was that the drug’s development was subsidized by the U.S. government, which means, that American citizens as taxpayers, had already paid their contribution for that drug.