I would like to think of a CRO as a local credit union, and a Big Pharma as Bank of America. One would be more intended to resolve a certain community’s financial needs and the other’s focus is to take advantage of anyone’s financial struggles. But when it comes to choosing between the two to work for, I would probably choose Big Pharma. I think if I were to have a real impact on policies at some point in my career, working for a big company would make me understand the problems better and then be able to change them. That can be when I rise up the ladder, or when I quit and become a politician. I understand that there is a lot of politics involved, for example, there are Big Pharma lobbying groups that want to keep the consumption of marijuana illegal, as it tremendously alters the benefits for other legal drugs. A quick research would show that CEOs of Big Pharma companies have donated millions of dollars to prevent the legalization of certain drugs in one state or another. I think by working for these companies and knowing first hand how they influence the political system, would make my career life more interesting and would prepare me to be a person of knowledge who can be influential on policymaking.