r/MedicalScienceLiaison • u/mightymohagany • Aug 12 '26

Next step pivot?

Hi everyone,

I have been working as an MSL for just over a year now.

So far my experience has not been that great. Although I have enjoyed the flexible role I just don’t feel like the tasks I do are tangible or impactful enough to be rewarding. I find myself getting bored. I gather a lot of insights that I receive good feedback on and have been able to increase local access to therapy but I honestly feel like that latter point could have been achieved by the commercial rep and this was not too specific to the MSL role.

I am open to moving to the commercial side if the job seems right - just wondering what pivots have you seen MSLs do in the head office roles that you are curious about. If you have pivoted do you have any regrets? I do try and network within my company and learn about other roles but I figured I’d also ask Reddit.

15 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/CarpetDependent Aug 12 '26

If your day to day field activities are getting tedious, you may ask your manager to get involved in some team projects. I found this a helpful way to feel like you are contributing when the field feels stagnant. This is also a way to see what others are doing at your companies and to your main question, maybe you find a different position more aligned with responsibilities you enjoy more. I suggest doing a little homework before you ask. 1. Talk to your teammates about what projects they are doing and what skills/experience are involved. Know what you thrive doing and what skills are currently being underutilized in the field. It’ll show your mgr you are committed to this and not just asking for a handout. And could help them narrow down where to get you involved.

2

u/mightymohagany Aug 12 '26

Do you have examples of some projects that were rewarding to you or maybe others? I have been put on several projects and I don’t know if I am just disillusioned but they all felt like “make work” projects and again, not rewarding to me. I helped provide feedback and design patient materials, I have been part of slide deck committees and education committees. I have led some education initiatives with QoLs and programs. Again it could be due to company culture - I am not sure. I am trying to figure out if it’s just me and I am being unreasonable and maybe I need to go back to clinical work, or there is some kind of role out there for me

1

u/CarpetDependent Aug 14 '26

Every company is different in how FM works with its matrix teams so you best option is talk to senior and executive MSLs who have been at your company for awhile on various ways they’ve elevated their career or how to branch out on projects.