Updated March 07, 2014.

The Minneapolis - St. Paul area is a thriving life science cluster in the United States. For anyone conducting a job search in medical supplies, medical devices, biotechnology, and other life science career fields, this region in Minnesota offers variety

Medical Device Jobs in the Minneapolis - St. Paul Area

The Minneapolis - St. Paul area has shown strength in particular in the medical device sector of the overall life sciences market.

In this region, in the medical device field specifically, there are an estimated 38,000 people employed.

The Minneapolis - St. Paul Area typically ranks as the 9th largest life sciences cluster in the United States because of its weighted score ranking across:

• Life sciences employment, including percentage of the area's population that the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics has found to be working in these industries
• The percentage of the area's organizations (businesses, hospitals, universities, etc.) that fit into these industries
• The amount of venture capital funding invested in the biotechnology and medical device sector
• The amount of funding (grants) from the National Institutes of Health.

Across these four categories, the various clusters are measured and weighed so that we can create a baseline to compare the regions to each other. There can always be debate as to whether these weighted measures are the appropriate criteria, or whether there should be different or additional criteria. For our purposes here, which is to paint a broad-brush view of the job opportunities, the "rankings" are less important.

Whether you're looking for a job in Boston or Minneapolis, if the job and the region is the right "fit" for you, your lifestyle, your family, your career goals, etc., then those personal criteria will of course outweigh any third-party opinion of which cluster is ranked "first" and which is ranked "ninth".

That said, here is how Minneapolis compares to the rest of the clusters in the United States, on the 4 specific criteria in the above bullet points: 

• ranks 9th in attracting venture capital funding; 
• ranks 18th in funding awards from the National Institutes of Health;
• has the 3rd highest percentage of its population in the life sciences industry;
• has the 11th highest percentage of its organizations in the life sciences industry.

 

Where are the Life Sciences Jobs in Minneapolis - St. Paul?

Major employers include Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, Smiths Medical, Boston Scientific, the University of Minnesota.

The University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota provides lots of opportunity for researchers, and also helps to feed the public and private sector with recent research graduates.

The Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota receives more than $321 million in sponsored research annually, according to Jones Lang Lasalle. From the NIH, it typically receives more than $230 million every year. In both cases, it is the midwest leader in funds received.

Since federal funding will be reduced for all compared to past years, Principal Investigators with an entrepreneurial skill set will become ever more valuable to companies and institutions looking for creative ways to replace NIH funding.

Minnesota's State Initiatives for Life Sciences

Learn more about:

• Minnesota's Angel Investor Fund
• Minnesota's R&D Tax Credit
• Life Science Alley
• BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota
• Minnesota Science & technology Authority
• Biomedical Discovery District
• Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Center
• Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
• Lions Research Building / McGuire Translational Research Facility
• Winston and Maxine Wallin Medical Biosciences Building

 

In addition to the direct company links in this article, you can also find broader job-search functions in the following resources provided by About.com's Job Search Expert, Alison Doyle:

Best Job Websites

Best Job Search Engine Sites

 

Additional Job Search Tips

Best Job Search Tips

Top 10 Strategies for a Successful Job Search?

How to Apply for Jobs Online

Job Search and Career Networking

How to Build Your Personal Brand

How to Prepare for an Interview?

What to Wear to an Interview