Working in a pharma QA / QC role is mostly about discipline — disciplined sampling, disciplined documentation, disciplined deviation handling. Grades matter; the habits below matter at least as much.
First — instrumentation. Be comfortable with HPLC, GC and dissolution apparatus operation, not just theory. Run the instrument yourself in your final-year project; don't outsource to a lab technician.
Second — documentation. Recruiters notice candidates who write clean lab notebooks. Date every entry, sign every correction, never tear out pages. The audit mindset starts here.
Third — regulatory familiarity. Read the basics of ICH Q1A (stability), Q2 (validation) and Q7 (GMP). You don't need to memorise them; you need to recognise what they govern.
Fourth — soft skills. Pharma QA is collaborative — you'll work with production, regulatory and R&D. Practice articulating findings to non-QA listeners.
Fifth — curiosity about deviations. Every QA team values a junior who pulls on a thread when something is off, instead of waving it through. Show this in your project work.