Company: Pfizer
Posted by Pfizer_10yr_Questioning · March 23, 2026
Tags: career, general
Ten years at Pfizer.
Good territory, decent manager, reasonable comp.
But I'm watching friends who jumped to smaller biotechs 3-4 years ago — some of them are now in leadership roles, carrying equity that's actually worth something, and building deep expertise in one therapeutic area instead of getting remapped every 18 months.
Meanwhile I feel like I've been treading water.
Three restructurings.
Two product discontinuations.
One "strategic pivot" that moved me from CNS to cardiovascular against my preference.
I know the big company safety net is real.
I know biotech is riskier.
But I'm starting to wonder if the stability I'm protecting is actually just stagnation.
For people who made the jump: what did you wish you'd known beforehand? And for people who considered it and stayed: what made you stay? Looking for honest takes, not recruiting pitches.
88 upvotes · 6 comments