Page 42 - Skills - 2024

CHOOSING A CAREER
Industry Outlook: Life Sciences
With Regeneron on a hiring spree and New York Blood Center relocating to Westchester, the industry is thriving more than ever.
BY STACEY PFEFFER
The life sciences industry is strong in Westchester County and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. In fact, life sciences is the fastest-growing sector in Westchester County, according to Bridget
Gibbons, the director of economic development for Westchester County.
She attributes much of this growth to a $1.8 billion expansion for Regeneron in the next several years, with more than 1,000 full-time jobs that need to be filled. “Regeneron acts as a sort of magnet for other companies that want to be located close to them, resulting in a cluster of business growth in the life sciences around the areas
of Tarrytown and Valhalla,” she says. In addition, the recent relocation of the New York Blood Center to Rye and the groundbreaking this spring of North80, a bioscience and
technology campus, all point to a promising future for job seekers in the life sciences industry throughout the county.
“Regeneron is extremely important to Westchester County, our economy and our well-being, considering their role during COVID,” explains Gibbons. Regeneron currently employs 4,000 people here, but the life sciences sector employs 8,000 people overall in Westchester, representing more than 20% of New York State’s total life sciences employment. These jobs are available in everything from academic institutions, R&D startups, large manufacturers, and supply chain participants to several nonprofit
A job in the life sciences might be right for you if:
• You want to help discover medications that help people cure or manage their conditions.
• You’re interested in finding answers to scientific problems.
• You’re good with numbers and data.
• You’re good at putting people at ease (for certain jobs that require interaction with patients or study subjects, such as phlebotomist).
40 2024 SKILLS What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.
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