I looked up Merck & Co and found

P/E ratio – 16.54
Revenue $39.5 billion
Price – $63.39
Market Cap – 172.9 billion
Debt to Equity – .62
Debt to capital -. 38
ROI – 6.54%
ROA – 8.22%
ROE – 9.78%
Gross Profit Margin – 65.1 %

Based on the profits margins and return on investments Merck seems to be doing very well with the potential for a little bit…[Read more]

I don’t think that I would turn down a job based only on the type of company that they are. Like others have said most people specifically recent college grads don’t have the luxury of turning down job offers. After gaining 2-3 years of experience, most people would be marketable and have more options for job offers and chose to decline job…[Read more]

During my time in QA, I had a good relationship with all other teams and members. Most times I reported issues to other team members they were helpful in resolving any issues as well as resolving any clarifications on requirements.

I think the best way for quality teams to work with R&D teams would be to have both teams syncing up with each other on a consistent basis, so that they can discuss and resolve any difficulties, misunderstanding, or confusions between teams. Involving team members from different teams in other meetings or calls can help keep all teams in loop…[Read more]

In my experience in QA, I performed manual and automated test cases both formally and informally. Informal testing was usually done before formal testing to see and issues or defects that arose – test cases were executed but evidence of successfully passing test cases weren’t documented in informal testing. In formal testing most steps require…[Read more]

I agree that precision and accuracy are both important when it comes to the FDA and regulating medical devices. Accuracy and precision are both important actors for medical devices – when used on patients the medical device may need a certain degree of accuracy and precision in order for its intended use. Precision and accuracy are two important…[Read more]

I feel like the FDA approval process seems like it is too strict compared to regulations in other countries, but I agree that the FDA is right in being as extensive as it is. The FDA was originally put in place to regulate the food industry because there was no way of proving that labels were accurate as to what companies were putting in the…[Read more]

The one reason for a device to be recalled by the FDA is if there are any unforeseen issues that arrive after the product has been approved to be put on the market. In most cases, I believe the companies discover defects or issues themselves and contact the FDA. The only way I could see to improve this process would be more quality control and…[Read more]

I think that research in academia allows for more flexibility to the researcher to control the research process because they don’t have a company giving them strict guidelines and deadlines. In academia there may also be a limited supply of fund. On the other hand research in industry is funded for and the researcher has access to more resources.

I do think that animal testing is unethical, but it will be difficult to eliminate. As mentioned in this thread animal testing has been successfully used for many years and there isn’t an obvious way to replace them. I think a lot of effort will be required to find an alternative method and will take some time to develop. I think until we can…[Read more]

I agree that both that both types of research is required and can see myself working on either one. I think research geared towards the current generation would provide solutions and improvements more efficiently and this finding can be helpful for future generations as well. Research that focuses on future generations won’t provide immediate…[Read more]

I do believe animal testing is a bit unethical, it is something that would be difficult to eliminate. As already mentioned animal models have been used extensively in various testings for drugs and medical device. Considerable effort would be needed to try to find an alternative to animal testing.

I think the advantage in research for academia is that it allows for more flexibility for the researcher to explore different ideas and test out different hypotheses. In academia, there are no company deadlines or guidelines when it comes to research allowing the researcher freedom to work. On the other end the researcher industry doesn’t have…[Read more]

One obstacle that occurred during a recent project was when several issues were found after the testing phase of the project was completed. This issues were things that should have been identified before the conclusion of the testing phase. Because of this obstacle we had to go back and address the issues and re-test those issues again before…[Read more]

I have experience working in projects with multiple project leaders and I think there are benefits as well as drawbacks under this approach. From my experience coordination between teams sometimes felt like an issue – some project leaders would debate each other as to what team a particular deliverable/ task is meant to be completed and work that…[Read more]

Each phase of the project life cycle is important for the success of the project, but I feel like the planning phase is one of the most important phases. It is during this step where key deliverables and milestones are set based on the given deadlines. Properly planning out the project is important when it comes to high pressure time-sensitive…[Read more]

I think that 70/30 may be a good ratio if a student chooses to take all 3 courses currently offered. As it stands right now I don’t think these 3 practical courses are required in the MS program. I would like to see that change as they offer real world benefits that academic courses just don’t offer. I also think that 3 courses may be enough in…[Read more]

I have some experience working in academia as well as industry and I think a person would have to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of both for themselves. Personally I found that I prefer working in industry. The one negative I’m seeing about industry positions is the typical 9-5 schedule – for me I have had a relatively flexible schedule…[Read more]

I started working in industry and working on my MS degree simultaneously after completing undergrad. I can see the benefits to waiting a few years to return for your master’s degree but personally I have enjoyed working on both right away. I think doing both gives you the ability to supplement your real job with the courses you choose to take…[Read more]