Using Academic Research Experience to Try My Hand at Applying For Equity Research Roles

Hey, so I'm a 4th Year student at a target school studying Economics and I was hoping I could get an answer to the question I've got. My resume is primarily dominated by research I've done in Economics under professors at various schools in my university. A lot of my work consisted of coding (Stata, Python, R) as well as Literature Reviews and I was wondering if these experiences would be comparable to what I might expect to see in Equity Research or if I even have the requisite skills TO be able to break into Equity Research. I should mention that I've got about 1.4 years of research experience

4 Comments
 

Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights regarding your situation:

  1. Relevance of Academic Research Experience:

    • Your experience in coding (Stata, Python, R) and conducting literature reviews is valuable. In equity research, analytical skills and the ability to handle large datasets are crucial. Your coding skills can be particularly useful for financial modeling and data analysis.
  2. Skills Comparison:

    • Analytical Skills: Equity research requires strong analytical skills to evaluate companies and industries. Your background in economics research should have honed these skills.
    • Coding and Data Analysis: Proficiency in Stata, Python, and R is beneficial. These skills are often used in equity research for quantitative analysis and financial modeling.
    • Literature Reviews: This experience can translate to the ability to conduct thorough industry and company research, which is a key part of equity research.
  3. Breaking into Equity Research:

    • Networking: Networking is crucial in breaking into equity research. Building connections with professionals in the industry can significantly increase your chances of landing interviews.
    • Tailoring Your Resume: Highlight your analytical skills, coding proficiency, and research experience. Tailor your resume to emphasize how these skills are relevant to equity research.
    • Cultural Fit: Understanding the culture of the firms you are applying to is important. Equity research teams often look for candidates who fit well with their work environment and team dynamics.
  4. Interview Preparation:

    • Technical Questions: Be prepared for technical questions related to financial modeling, valuation, and industry analysis.
    • Behavioral Questions: While less common, be ready to discuss your research experience and how it has prepared you for a role in equity research.

In summary, your academic research experience, especially your coding skills and analytical abilities, can be highly relevant to equity research roles. Focus on networking, tailoring your resume, and preparing for both technical and behavioral interview questions to improve your chances of breaking into the field.

Sources: Breaking into buy-side equity research - my experience, Breaking into buy-side equity research - my experience, Q&A: Equity Research Associate at a Boutique Firm, , What would you like to know about Equity Sales / Research?

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Python is used for scraping and datasets slightly too big for Excel but overall I would expect what you're doing and what ER is are totally unrelated terms that happen to share a word in common. You could absolutely work now to get the ER skills, but they're not really related to what you're doing now.

Here's an indicative task we would give an interviewer: given a three statement model for our company as of 1Q and the 2Q press release, update the model for all the actuals and revise the forecasts, then write up a page of bullets about what you learned this quarter. Does that sound at all like what you're doing now?

And can it ever be?
 

Sort of? I remember doing a project where we were looking at the stock price fluctuations over a span of 20 years and I was tasked with conducting a literature review to summarize the econometrics (SEC regulations are a bitch in regression analysis). From there I calculated the daily and weekly returns of that same stock to get a better view of what’s happening to the overall stock price. So I don’t imagine this is too different? I’m not incredibly sure though.

 

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And can it ever be?

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