Jahnavi Lad

I would definitely say that the opportunities I get and the managers I got to work with have been crucial to my success. At the very early stage, you need somebody to trust in your abilities, and I would definitely give that credit to my previous manager, Jamini Patel, who believed in me and gave me opportunities at the very early stage. I got to audit companies at the very early stage, which typically requires 5-10 years of experience, but she took me along with her everywhere so I could learn those skills that I have right now. Having someone who trusts you and invests in your development when you're just starting out makes all the difference in building the foundation for success.

The best career advice I've ever received is that whatever you do, even if it's the smallest thing at your job, suppose you are maintaining the cage or retail and stuff, do it with all your heart and everything else will fall into place. Don't think that this is too small or question how this will help you in your career. Eventually, it all comes together and takes you where you need to go. This advice has taught me to give my full effort to every task, no matter how minor it may seem, because that dedication and commitment is what ultimately builds your career.

My advice to women in the field is that you need to be together, because it's a tough space at the top if you want to go there. That's what I have felt in all four years of my career. It's kind of restricted for women because not all fields have access to everything. There are so many things that are harmful for women biologically, like you cannot get into certain chemical areas. So you need to stick together in whatever field you get into, because that's how your voice will be heard. If you want to be heard, you need to be combined together and go to the top altogether. Individually, it's kind of difficult. That's what I have faced, and that's why supporting each other and building solidarity is so important for women in this industry.

The biggest challenge in pharmaceutical manufacturing is definitely the ladder you need to climb if you want to go through the corporate route. You need to start working in different departments. You need to start with the lab, then move into microbiology, then go into the QA space. It's definitely a ladder, and even if you reach a certain level, then you could see some success in terms of money or connections. But there are so many levels to reach that success, and not many people are interested or have the patience to wait that long. That's the challenge. On the opportunity side, there are many opportunities because we are in the tri-state area and many pharmaceutical companies are here. NJ is actually the hub of pharmaceutical. Healthcare is a field that never goes into recession. You'll definitely have opportunities to work in different departments. If you want to pivot and you don't like it in one department, you can definitely go to another department, you can go into research, packaging, or so many different departments. So I would say there are a lot of opportunities available.

I would definitely say that you need to be genuine and honest in whatever you're working on, and your intent needs to be good. Everything else falls into place if your intent is correct. That is my biggest core value in life and work. I believe that when you approach everything with genuine intentions and honesty, the rest naturally follows. This principle guides both my professional decisions and personal relationships.