I am male in my 40s and have a chance to go to training at a higher position or be a DM. Which is the best route to take?
Training seems to be a better route from what I've seen, plus you are at corporate so can meet and schmooze with higher ups. You can always do DM later but anyone who has longevity in pharma has had both jobs at some point. DM seems to be a babysitting job imo.
I disagree. A lot of companies make reps go into training before allowing them to apply for DM jobs. As a trainer you are not actually managing or leading anyone and that is what most employers are looking for. Even if it is a babysitting type of DM job you are able to show that you lead a team and were responsible for 8-10 employees. Training does give you access to the home office folks, but at many companies so does the DM role. I would say this, most companies are begging good reps to come in house and so seldom do reps what to go in house as they lose the company car and in many cases may make less money. DM jobs are far more sought after as it doesn’t force reps who want promotions to relocate in most cases. If you want to climb the corporate ladder, with the two paths offered to you, these are the most likely scenarios: Rep to DM – DM to Regional - Regional to Home Office Director level role Rep to training - training to ? Or Rep to training – training to DM, - DM to Regional – Regional to Home Office Director level role I have never seen a VP of Sales in my 18 years in this business who did not manage direct reports as a DM/Regional. Lastly home office jobs can be dead ends and you may never be able to get back out to the field or even more latterly let alone upward. Unless you are tired of being in the field stay in the field as long
