Updated March 07, 2014.
While the life sciences clusters in this list are not as big as the more well-known biotech clusters like Boston and San Diego, they still offer plenty of opportunity for job-seekers in the bio med field. Whether you are a researcher or have worked in the medical device manufacturing sector, you'll find great jobs, at great companies, universities, and hospitals, in a variety of climates and cultures.
Dallas / Fort Worth
- More than 1,000 life sciences companies
- 25,000 jobs in the life sciences industry
- Largest segments of the bio med field here are pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers
- Home to over a dozen incubators ("incubators" are buildings with small and shared lab spaces where new start-up science companies can work in lab space very inexpensively until they earn more funding to take their ideas, and their business, to the "next level" of growth)
- A well-known example of an incubator is BioCenter, a 100,000 square foot modern lab facility, located very close to the University of Texas' Southwestern Medical Centers' Scientific Core
Texas hopes to nurture even more growth through the Texas Life Science Center for Innovation and Commercialization and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
Another interesting note is that the Dallas / Fort Worth cluster actually receives the sixth highest amount of venture capital funding in life sciences initiatives. This is a surprisingly large amount of funding for a relatively smaller cluster.
Southern Wisconsin
The Southern Wisconsin cluster may be a bit smaller, but it certainly is learning quickly from its larger neighbors. The Minneapolis and Chicago life science clusters nearby set a fine example of how to co-locate and collaborate from university to corporation to hospital.
- 550 life sciences companies
- Over 12,000 jobs in the life sciences sector
- Organized funding resources like the Wisconsin Venture Capital Authority have helped Wisconsin create more jobs in bio medical fields
- Notable employer is GE Healthcare, the medical device unit of General Electric
Florida
- Central and Southern Florida are known for many jobs in research and development specifically
- Tampa Bay's focus has been in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
- Northeastern Florida is home to a small medical device cluster
- Unique properties in Florida include medical simulation capabilities and the emergence of a medical tourism sector
- Two of the largest incubators include the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator and the USF Technology Incubator
- Large research institutions include H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the Sanford-Burnham Institute, the McKnight Brain Institute, and the Univeristy of Florida Shands Institute.
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is home to several large, established pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, Roche Diagnostics, Endocyte, and DOW AgroSciences.
Other major employers in the bio medical field include Cook Incorporated, Zimmer, Biomet, and Depuy Orthopaedics.
- Roughly 350 life sciences establishments employing almost 13,000 people
- A public-private partnership called BioCrossroads has helped fund hundreds of start-ups in the area
Southern Michigan
- Life sciences concentrated in the Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor areas
- Roughly 1,000 life sciences establishments, across corporations, healthcare, and university
- Over 12,000 life sciences jobs in this area
- Economic development organizations such as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan Strategic Fund and Ann Arbor SPARK, and the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center, are working hard to create more jobs here
Atlanta
- Home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- The state of Georgia has over 900 life sciences companies
- There are 8 major universities in and around Atlanta that offer science degrees that are ripe for growing careers in several bio med sectors
- The Georgia Research Alliance does its part by fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors
- The Georgia Bioscience Commercialization Center is a group that helps science entrepreneurs bring their ideas from the research bench to the market
- Major employers include Baxter International, Emory University, Ethicon, and Elekta
You can also find broader job-search help in the following resources provided by About.com's Job Search Expert, Alison Doyle: