A quick PSA to my US friends in orthopedics (my opinion based on a thousand conversations with people in orthopedics).
If you want to accelerate your career, DO NOT work for a foreign-owned orthopedic company.
However, if you simply need a job, it’s OK to work for a foreign-owned orthopedic company. Every day good people work at the US subsidiary office and the products are sound, but it may be career limiting for you.
So what are the issues being employed by a foreign-owned orthopedic companies?
1/There is no equity and no incentives for your hard work. These companies will NEVER give you stock options or any equity consideration.
2/The foreign owners generally “under-resource” the US office and US market. Often their primary purpose is to sell “US designed and manufactured products” back into their home country. Flip it around and think about how Zimmer Biomet would treat a foreign division in say…. Peru.
3/This third point is a bit cold, but here it is – they really don’t care about you. They care about the people back home at the corporate headquarters. When times get hard, they will downsize staff in the US. US employees are expendable.
Examples of foreign-owned orthopedic companies?
MicroPort (Chinese)
Waldemar Link (German)
Corin (British)
United Orthopedics Corp (Taiwanese)
Ortho Development (Japanese)
GS Medical (Korean)
Carbofix Orthopedic Ltd (Israeli)
Medicrea (France)
joimax (German)
Medyssey (Korean)
Medacta (Swiss)
Silony (German)
Medartis (Swiss)
Kyocera (Japanese)
Ulrich Medical (German)
SpineArt (Swiss)
B-One Ortho (Chinese) …and many more.
To reiterate, its OK to work there, but if you join one of these companies… go in with your eyes open.
