Life Sciences HF progression
Weird pedigree/background.
I was an Econ/Chem pre-med at a t30 with decent grades. I was prepared to go for med school but the TVM of residency/fellowship didn't make sense to me, so I made a late pivot to dental school and got in. I went straight after college and managed a good GPA but realized pretty quickly the hand skills and nicheness of the field were not for me. Summer after my first year I landed an internship at a healthcare-focused small FO. I left dental school after my second year to start full-time as they were transitioning to a HF, so I certainly got a bit lucky getting into the role.
Been working here for nearly three years now (also got a bio-MS part-time in between). a few months ago started looking at opportunities and the only thing I've been able to land is a LO pension fund. i also thought about medical school due to the sheer number of advanced degrees in the life sciences vc/buyside/consulting space, and I got into an MD program but far from a brand name or in the vicinity of where I am currently (2-3 hour drive). the current fund is also not necessarily a stable spot as performance has been poor.
So basically trying to figure out my next step from here as I've gotten mixed feedback from mentors. I obviously know the coverage space very well and have performed strongly, but hard to gauge what my top skillset is. FWIW I'm 26
1) go to state med school this fall and leave buyside
2) go to state med school this fall and TRY working at current fund PT for first 2 years (would have to drive down once a week)
3) take a lateral move to a pension fund for the stability
4) stay at current fund, and give it another 6-12 months for recruiting
5) looking at other ways to enhance my skillset (CFA, PT research, go back to school for MBA/PHD?)
6) go to life sciences industry/startup for a strategy/BD type role??
What exactly do you want to accomplish career wise?
Want to be on the buyside primarily, therapeutics/healthcare. But optionality for industry or other exits if I’m 40 and not a PM.
bump
I'd personally stick around. I do not recommend going to Med School, going to a pension fund (different mandate), or even going to industry. You already have buy-side experience, so just network and continue to apply around.
appreciate your comment (one below as well). mind if I PM you?
I do think I would rather stay just because I have good rapport and autonomy at current fund which probably makes it easier to interview there.
One thing I'm factoring in is that I've been at this fund since, and it's a smaller fund, so if going to a pension fund even short-term would make me more marketable?
You'll need an advanced degree for buy-side roles in life sciences/therapeutics. You can get away with not having it in IBD healthcare
by advanced, only Phd/MD or a science-based masters?
This is an incorrect and inaccurate statement. I don't have an advanced degree in the life sciences and worked as a PM investing predominantly in Biotech/Healthcare. I've also had colleagues with Bachelor degrees in Life Sciences that are some of the best analysts I know on the buy-side.
From my experience, that is more abnormal than normal. When I covered healthcare, most of the PMs who invested in life sciences and pharma I came across had at least a masters degree (at the healthcare-dedicated funds I interacted with).
have a science MS, but im guessing you're suggesting PhD/PharmD/MD.
Was thinking about going to MBA for a year of banking and trying to go back to public equities from there, would be essentially same time period as med school.
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