Ivy Med Student Pivoting to Finance
Hey everyone - first post here and nice to meet you all. Off the top: I went to an Ivy undergrad and I’m currently at a top Ivy med school (idk how much it matters in finance) to get an MD. I’m exploring finance as an option after med school (no residency), rationale being it’ll let me start building my wealth 4-5 years (length of residencies I’m interested in) ahead, and it’ll offer a higher ceiling of income down the road. One potential path is to go into healthcare venture capital for a few years, and then pivot to a healthcare fund, eventually getting to the managerial level. I’ve talked to people in healthcare PE and VC and it seems like an exciting field for me to use my science background. But I understand I’ll need more real (internship) experiences in finance. Fortunately I’m still in my first year so I have the time. Unfortunately the upcoming summer is the only full summer for me to get that experience due to MD program’s curriculum/schedule. So I’m networking as much as possible and looking for opportunities. (More than happy to talk to folks here for potential openings as well!) Some miscellaneous thoughts - I most likely will pivot to finance anyway, and it’s just a matter of when. If I choose to practice medicine for a while, I’ll most likely pick dermatology and pivot to finance with a focus on the cosmetic derm industry, since investments in that space will probably be less prone to new regulations. My ultimate goal is to make a good income with a good work life balance (though I think that applies to everyone), hence the aforementioned “fund manager” goal. Anyways, thanks for reading this and any advice is welcomed. I’m still learning about both fields and would much appreciate some mentorship on here. Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your weekends!
Fellow md who jumped ship here. It is good you realized early on that practicing medicine might not be your path. However, since you mentioned work life balance is a priority imo dermatology is hard to beat. In private practice you can make 700+ while working 9-5.
If you’re at P&S, HMS, or Penn I would get an MBA. This will position you above 99% of candidates and the network to raise a fund down the road. Another option may be going to McK/BCG for 1-2 years while getting paid and then jump to VC/PE/HF.
Thank you! Re: work/life - the “fund manager” goal came on my radar because it seems to be the dermatology in finance but definitely curious to hear other people’s thoughts here.
Also - income goal is mid range 7 figures by late 40s, which is definitely doable in medicine by being a top surgeon (taking into account inflation), but doing that in finance relying on long-term clientele relationships and not so many active work hours is enticing. (Again may be wrong with some of the details here as I’m still learning a lot of things)
Feel free to PM, happy you chat!
Check out Adu Subramanian substack think it is bio breakdowns or smth. Def rip biotech HF if possible. Great Risk/Reward skew imo
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