Pros
Good alternative for experienced sales reps who are having challenges landing a position directly with a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Good Salary and good benefits in comparison to other outside sales positions in other industries. Contract Pharmaceutical Sales is where the Pharmaceutical Industry is heading. It is more cost efficient and give pharmaceutical manufacturers more flexibility hiring a contract sales organization like Quintiles. Quintiles has sales contract with 15/20 of the largest pharmaceutical organizations worldwide. Usually sales resp get car allowance rather than a company car. If a sales rep performs well for a manufacturer, there is usually some opportunities to get hired on directly.
Cons
Depending on the contract, you might have two managers. One for Quintiles, and one for the manufacturer you represent. Sometimes the manufacturer treats you as one of their own, other times they treat you like an ugly step child. It really depends on the contract. Salary is usually about 10-15% less than what you can make working directly for a manufacturer. Not as much job security because even though there is a contract term, it can be cancelled whenever the manufacturer chooses.