Always growing: Journey from Intern to Statistical Programming Manager

Brought to IQVIA through a week-long work experience program, this Statistical Programmer's career journey exemplifies IQVIA's commitment to continuous growth.

With motivation, teamwork, and an eagerness to learn, there’s no telling where your skills can take you at IQVIA. Alex Moffatt’s career journey is a prime example of our limitless possibilities. For Alex, his week-long work experience program has blossomed into a position on IQVIA’s management team.

Find out what brought this Statistical Programmer to IQVIA, but more importantly, what has kept him here years later.

Path to IQVIA

My first introduction to IQVIA was in 2010 at school when I joined the Biostatistics team for a week-long work experience program. This was my first exposure to the clinical research industry, where I could combine my love of math with real world application.

In 2013, I returned to the same department, where I completed a year-long placement as a Statistical Programming Technician. Upon graduating from university, I was recruited for a role at IQVIA full-time as an Associate Statistical Programmer and have been here ever since.

After a few years as an individual contributor, I earned the opportunity to be Lead Programmer, overseeing a programming team responsible for a variety of studies. In 2018, things came full circle, when I was tapped to manage students joining IQVIA’s Biostatistics’ work placement program… the same program I completed in 2013.

Fast forward to today, where I lead a team of 16 programmers across Europe as Manager of Statistical Programming. In my role, I onboard new programmers, train them in SAS and resource them out to awarded studies.

Statistical Programming at IQVIA

While I’ve always loved math, funnily enough I didn’t always love programming. That wasn’t until I found a language I enjoyed. At IQVIA, I learned SAS as my primary programming language. For me, the neat thing about SAS is that it’s simple enough to learn, but hard to master which means there's more to discover.

The SAS trainers I worked with at IQVIA were incredibly supportive. With their encouragement, I learned I had a knack for SAS programming - and this is from someone who initially had no interest in programming! Now, I encourage my colleagues and team to learn the system and train them like my mentors did for me. I thoroughly enjoy introducing new programmers to SAS and demonstrating how we use it within our department; always reflecting on my experience in 2013.

Why IQVIA?

For me, it’s the combination of the breadth of growth opportunities, technology and resources that drive efficiencies, and the culture at IQVIA.

Not only have I had first-hand experience stretching into new career possibilities, but I also get the chance to support the growth of others. I find joy in helping junior programmers expand their skills and encouraging them to stretch into new opportunities.

IQVIA also has access to some of the latest and most innovative programming tools to assist with standard, as well as more time-consuming, programming activities. These resources can also help more junior programmers manage more difficult programming tasks – driving efficiencies and producing high quality outputs.

Lastly, living in Reading, I split my time between the office and working remotely. I typically spend two days a week in the office, where I’m fortunate to meet with many of my direct reports in person. The Reading, England office has a great culture. We have social events and weekly activities, including training for the IQVIA Cup – an annual company football tournament – and a weekly badminton club. These provide casual opportunities to build relationships with colleagues outside of the office environment.

My advice for someone looking to join IQVIA would be to make the most of your experience by pushing yourself through development activities and leaning on your manager for support. I personally couldn’t think of a better place to start and continue to grow my career than IQVIA.

Ready to explore a Biostatistician career at IQVIA? Search our open jobs here.