Awesome Alumni Interview: Susan

Susan graduated from Drexel with her MLIS in 1996. She interned at Merck and at the Hahamenan Medical Center before it became part of Drexel. She also served as an adjunct professor for CIS. To view her LinkedIn profile, click here.

What is your current job? Senior Manager of Scientific Information at a large pharmaceutical company.

How did you find your job? Through a networking contact (a former client) who was retiring. 

What does your typical day look like? Is this what you expected when you took the job? I think my expectations are generally in line with what I do.

What do you enjoy most about your job? I enjoy solving problems and creating streamlined solutions.

What are some of the common misconceptions about your job/area of librarianship? That we deal with print/physical materials. In the corporate world, most information-providing groups no longer maintain physical collections.

What was the most valuable thing in library school that you did or learned? The resource courses were very valuable.

What inspired you to choose this career? At this point, I don't remember but I think it had something to do with not wanting to be a pharmacist. 

What do you wish you had learned more about? I wish I had focused more on IT concerns. 

Any tips for current students? Specialize. 

Interested in getting into a pharmaceutical or medical company? The Library Career People have some great advice on their Q&A blog.