Lateral to ER from consulting

Hey all - I have 1.5 years of experience in life science consulting. I'm curious about making a move to life science equity research as I'd like to be closer to the public markets and also develop a more tangible skill set. I'm unfamiliar with the ER recruitment process and would appreciate any feedback on how to prepare for interviews and what these banks would be looking for in terms of experience and skills. Would also appreciate insight on if this type of move is feasible without an MBA/CFA.

Comments (6)

30d 
Pepsii, what's your opinion? Comment below:

yeah bro 

Most Helpful
29d 
Pepsii, what's your opinion? Comment below:

You have great experience, so be confident. and when you see an open role in science that you like, message the person on LinkedIn or email them, call will go good and they can be your light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone I have spoken to in er is super nice across many places and will help you prep for technical or anything most likely. Everything is firm specific so just get the contact. you will just be lateraling so recruitment timeline doesn't matter bc you have valuable industry experience. Use the following email format:

Hi Lunar,

I'm Eclipse and I have been at x consulting firm in the science field for 1.5 years. Throughout my time here I have done xyz. Doing this pushed me to want to do finance, specifically er. I believe my experience will allow me to be an exceptional researcher. i would love to learn more about your team etc etc (make this whole thing longer obviously) 

Disclaimer: I am probably younger than you or same age but like finance so use the advice or pick someone else. Er associate roles are entry level so they don't care about MBAs, and just say you will get the cfa and if you dont like er dont get the cfa

Er goes -> Associate (helper to analysts, in the calls for industries, helping with models etc all that) -> Analysts (Higher ups, know what to do) 

  • 4
29d 
Life Science Associate, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Hey thank you so much for this detailed response. I'll plan on reaching out to some people on LinkedIn

18d 
ConsER, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Made the same switch this past summer so its definitely possible - switched from boutique consulting firm to ER at BB. Process was very specific to my situation, as I ended up joining a team where the MD had formerly worked at the consulting firm and was replacing someone who had also previously worked at the same firm, but if you can find someone that has made the switch from your firm to an ER role, even if it was a while back, that could be a great starting point for making a connection. Otherwise, there are also some smaller ER headhunters that you can try to contact and see if they can help you find opportunities that fit what you are looking for. From my experience, there is a lot of overlap between the work I did in consulting and what I'm doing now (both essentially revolve around using data to tell a story), and I found the aspect of being closer to public markets appealing as well. 

Interview prep wise, my process wasn't super technical but did involve a stock pitch which is pretty standard practice. 

10d 
monkey0114, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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