Biology/Science jobs in Boston

[Rob702]

If you want to move to States to find work the only way you can do so is: Find an employer who is willing to sponsor a work visa (H1-B). That is the biggest catch with all of your plans. To my knowledge a company needs to unsuccessfully try and find a suitable candidate who is a US citizen or permanent resident first. Only then they can sponsor your visa. Of course there are ways to "unsuccessfully" find a local candidate if they really want you, BUT the whole prodedure is pretty expensive and therefore you need to be highly qualified and have a degree as advanced as possible so you stick out from the crowd. Otherwise no employer is going to bother and I doubt a Bachelor's degree is enough. There are many Americans with a Bachelor's degree that can start to work right away and don't cost thousands of dollars just to get them a work visa.
Another option that may be more feasible: Apply to the big companies in Europe, such as Novartis in Switzerland, GSK... Many of them have facilities in the US as well and you can be transferred to that location after working with them for a while. That is much easier than finding an H1-B sponsor.
The Green Card lottery is also an option, but of course you can't plan your future on a lottery.

You cannot just move to the States, find a job and stay there. That is illegal.

Good luck!

[Britchick75]

I don't normally post on forums but this is very close to my heart, I am British and feel your pain with regards to the prospects in research in the UK and Ireland, so many of the big pharma companies have pulled out and there are very few jobs available. I work for a pharmaceutical company based in Boston and used to work for them in the UK (10 years industry experience in research). I was transferred here with the company so I never had an issue with visas as that was all organised for me however I agree with the above that the only way of doing it would be with an H1B which are tough to come by. That being said I know others who have come to Boston and been sponsored with the agreement that they wouldnt get any other relocation assistance - (it can be very expensive to relocate someone even within the US). I dont have a phd but do have a MSc however I work with many people with only a batchelors. I do enjoy my job and am not simply a technician, I am well paid (I earn twice what I did for the same job in the UK) but without a phd I will certainly never be able to climb the ladder as much as someone who has one. The story would be very different in academia however so I would advise if you do seek out a position in Boston and dont intend to do a phd to look at the pharma/biotech companies. There is an enormous amount of new construction and money being invested in this area, particularly in Cambridge, and I am sure that if you try hard enough and stick with it a door will open somewhere. Good luck!

[Irishgirl2013]

You are all so very kind to provide with advice, and your views. I appreciate it so much.

I really don't know what to do, and to be honest am heartbroken, as I have wanted to do this for a long time. I'll be honest with you all here, I dislike pharmaceutical work, and I don't want to do it again.

I am qualified to work in other areas of science like forensics for instance. What other area's of work in science would be possible I could work in in Boston? I would do anything to be working with my hands, using my precision and detail on a daily basis, and doing work that can make some sort of difference.

I'll be 31 soon, and I don't wish to sound like a greedy person at all, but I would like to/hope to get work where I can get adequately paid, and can live in Boston relative to how expensive it is.

Any further areas of science that I could work in? Your comments and views are appreciated by me so much. The advice you are giving me is helping me along, and giving me so much honest and constructive help, so thank you all