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Development Programs

If you will soon be graduating with an undergraduate or advanced degree, consider an AbbVie development program. We created them to give high-performing individuals the opportunity to broaden their work experience in a dynamic environment.

Each formal development program lasts two or three years, depending on the discipline. They are designed to enhance your leadership capabilities, expand your functional skill set and help pave the way to your ultimate career goals. Your functional program manager, assignment manager and mentor will help you acclimate to our unique culture of innovation and discovery. Working collaboratively, you will help make goal-oriented decisions while you perform challenging and rewarding work alongside industry pioneers.

See the impact our development program has had.

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Length of program:

  • Three 8-month assignments

Focus areas:

  • Project management
  • Technical development
  • Systems analysis
  • Business process review

Requirements:

  • Previous IT internship experience required for full-time consideration
  • Must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without requiring sponsorship
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0/4.0
  • Bachelor’s degree in management information systems or computer science; a master’s degree is a plus
  • Proven track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, initiative and integrity
  • Global mindset to thrive in a diverse culture and environment
  • Excellent communication, leadership and project management skills
  • A combination of technical and business knowledge with analytical strength and creative problem-solving abilities

Global opportunities:

Most of the Business Technology Solutions Development Program assignments are located in Lake County, Illinois. The program has the potential for international assignment areas in the following locations:
 

  • Germany
  • Audit assignment locations vary

Length of program:

  • Three 8- to 12-month assignments

Focus areas:

  • Engineering:
  • Fermentation plant engineering
  • Regulatory affairs quality systems
  • Project engineering
  • Quality:
  • Quality and compliance
  • Project management
  • Supply chain:
  • Supply chain planning
  • Operations quality assurance
  • Purchasing supplier management

Requirements:

  • Previous operations internship experience required for full-time consideration
  • Completion of bachelor’s or master’s degree in an engineering discipline, chemistry, biology or supply chain
  • Must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without requiring sponsorship
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0/4.0
  • Proven track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, initiative and integrity
  • Global mindset to thrive in a diverse culture and environment
  • Excellent communication, leadership and project management skills
  • Strong analytical capability

Global opportunities:

Global assignment opportunities encouraged, but not mandatory, in the following countries:

  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Puerto Rico
  • Singapore

Length of program:

  • Four 6-month rotational assignments

Focus areas:

  • Financial analysis
  • Budgets, plans and forecasting
  • Reporting and controls
  • Manufacturing operations accounting

Requirements:

  • Completion of a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in finance or accounting
  • Previous finance or accounting internship experience required for full-time consideration
  • Upon graduation, completion of a minimum of four accounting classes for semester schools, or five accounting classes for quarter schools
  • Completion of a three- to four-credit-hour course in cost accounting
  • Willingness and availability to work one or two 6-month rotations outside Lake County, Illinois.
  • Must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without requiring sponsorship
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0/4.0
  • No more than one C in accounting classes
  • Proven track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, initiative and integrity
  • Global mindset to thrive in a diverse culture and environment
  • Excellent communication, leadership and project management skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Global opportunities:

Each program member would most likely have two to three Lake County, Illinois assignments and one international assignment in one of the following locations:

  • Puerto Rico
  • Australia
  • Netherlands

Length of program:

Two 18-month rotations

Focus areas:

  • Sales
  • Product marketing
  • Managed health care marketing
  • Key account management

Requirements:

  • Completion of an M.B.A. degree program, preferably with an emphasis on marketing or general management
  • Three to five years of prior industry/work experience
  • Previous M.B.A. internship experience required for full-time consideration
  • Must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without requiring sponsorship
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0/4.0
  • Excellent communication, leadership and project management skills
  • Proven track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, initiative and integrity
  • Global mindset to thrive in a diverse culture and environment
  • Willing to occasionally travel domestically

Global opportunities:

A majority of our Commercial Leadership Program opportunities are based in Lake County, Illinois. However, roles in sales or key account management are field-based and can be flexible.  Field locations include:

  • Boston
  • San Francisco
  • Chicago

Length of program:

Three 8-month assignments

Focus areas:

  • Clinical program development
  • Data sciences
  • Outsourcing
  • Global drug supply management
  • Compliance

Requirements:

  • Previous internship experience preferred for full-time consideration
  • Must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without requiring sponsorship
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0/4.0
  • Bachelor’s or master’s degree in life sciences, data sciences, nursing or public health
  • Track record of accomplishment
  • Excellent problem-solving skills
  • Exceptional interpersonal, leadership and project management skills
  • Proven track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, initiative and integrity
  • Strong analytical skills

Locations:
Lake County – North Chicago, IL

Internships

Everything we do begins and ends with the patients we serve. We draw our purpose, our products and our way of working from their needs. As an intern, you share in this commitment by challenging the status quo and gaining work experience directly related to your field of study and career goals. You’ll accelerate your future career path as you gain access to some of the most respected industry experts and senior leaders across the globe.

See our internships at work.

In Their Own Words

“I had a very positive experience in both of my internships at AbbVie. It was useful to see how the concepts I learned in the classroom were applicable to real-world corporate finance functions. The pharmaceutical industry is so dynamic and always changing due to innovation and technology, and being a part of the AbbVie team for the summer was definitely rewarding. My internships will help me when I join AbbVie full-time because of the exposure I had to the Operations and Commercial side of the business.” – Olivia Bounadere, Finance Development Program I (and former finance intern in Global Marketing & Commercial Operations), North Chicago, IL

Olivia is a former two-time intern who is about to join us full time in the Finance Development Program. She’s a prime example of how AbbVie’s internship program helps a person build the skills necessary to work at AbbVie—and throughout the corporate world. During an internship after her sophomore year of college, she worked on planning, reporting, analyses of standard costs and volume/price analyses, along with the annual and long-range planning process. During her second internship after graduation, she focused on equally important areas, including developing a long-range plan reference book serving as financial support for one of our key brands.

Olivia Bounadere, Finance Development Program I (and former finance intern in Global Marketing & Commercial Operations), North Chicago, IL

It was useful to see how the concepts I learned in the classroom were applicable to real-world corporate finance functions.

Olivia Bounadere, Finance Development Program I (and former finance intern in Global Marketing & Commercial Operations), North Chicago, IL

Internship Program Overview

AbbVie’s internship program offers:

  • Robust and impactful project assignments
  • Networking and exposure to senior leaders
  • Opportunities to create remarkable impact
  • Business and development overviews
  • Team-based networking and socials
  • Philanthropy involvement

Length of program:

10-12 weeks

Housing accommodations:

We provide housing for interns who have a permanent home address more than 40 miles from the assigned internship location. Our housing consists of a shared-occupancy room in extended-stay hotel and shuttle transportation to and from the AbbVie campus.

Requirements:

  • Must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis without requiring sponsorship
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0/4.0
  • Completed at least one year of university studies prior to internship
  • Returning to university for at least one semester post-internship
  • Global mindset to thrive in a diverse culture and environment
  • Excellent communication and leadership skills
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Focus areas:

  • Project management
  • Technical development
  • Systems analysis
  • Business process review

Upon successful completion of an IT internship, interns may be considered for a full-time position in our Business Technology Solutions Development Program.

 

Focus areas:

  • Fermentation plant engineering
  • Regulatory affairs quality systems
  • Project engineering

Upon successful completion of an engineering internship, interns may be considered for a full-time position in our Operations Development Program.

Focus areas:

  • Quality and compliance
  • Project management

Upon successful completion of a quality internship, interns may be considered for a full-time position in our Operations Development Program.

Focus areas:

  • Supply chain planning
  • Operations quality assurance
  • Purchasing supplier management

Upon successful completion of a supply chain internship, interns may be considered for a full-time position in our Operations Development Program.

Focus areas:

  • Financial analysis
  • Budgets, plans and forecasting
  • Reporting and controls
  • Manufacturing operations accounting

Upon successful completion of a finance internship, interns may be considered for a full-time position in our Finance Development Program.

Focus areas:

  • Sales
  • Product marketing
  • Managed health care marketing
  • Key account management

Upon successful completion of a marketing MBA internship, interns may be considered for a full-time position in our Commercial Leadership Program.

These assignments are based on business need and may change annually. An advanced degree may be required for some roles.

Focus area examples:

  • Manufacturing science & technology (MS&T)
  • Drug product development (DPD)
  • Neglected tropical diseases (NTD)
  • Research & development (R&D)

These assignments are based on business need and may change annually.

Focus area examples:

  • Human resources
  • Corporate responsibility, brand and communications
  • Health economics and outcomes research (HEOR)
  • Corporate strategy office

Additional Resources

The AbbVie Early Career Team attends Career Fairs and hosts a number of Corporate Overviews. Use the link below to see when AbbVie may be coming to recruit at your University!

Campus Recruiting Calendar

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