Getting a job a Wall Street w/ a PhD in Molecular Biology?

Can you get a job on Wall Street w/ a PhD in molecular biology?

I've worked in biopharma for years in drug discovery, and I got an MBA along the way. I'm searching for a change in careers. I'd like to work as an investment banker or stock analyst.

Would my years of industry experience and MBA look good to potential hirers?

Thanks!

15 Comments
 

You'd be best suited for an equity research position. Nobody, but nobody, needs a Ph.D. for IB. I'd look into firms with strong healthcare/biotech/biopharma (you get the picture) ER presence and see what they say. I've seen Ph.Ds and M.D.s for that area.

 

You'd be best suited for an equity research position. Nobody, but nobody, needs a Ph.D. for IB. I'd look into firms with strong healthcare/biotech/biopharma (you get the picture) ER presence and see what they say. I've seen Ph.Ds and M.D.s for that area.

 
jonx8262They want quantitative/analytical people. They take engineers and scientists too.

Well, I'm not so sure how quantitative I am, since my job consisted of "look in the literature for a suitable target gene. Create antisense oligonucleotide to prevent translation of an important segment of said gene once it is transcribed into mRNA. Design an experiment to test its effectiveness in vitro and in vivo in mice."

I have very little C++ or mathematical modeling experience. I know how to use C++, just not for financial modeling. I know how to create linked lists and I even wrote a program to simulate an Enigma rotor cipher.

Still, I doubt I'm suitable for S&T

 
Best Response

You don't sound very excited about S&T, so maybe ER or a fundamentals HF (long or long/short) focused on healthcare and biotechs would be your best bet. VC could be an option, but you'd have to let them know you'd rather do investment analysis and not just be a manager for one of their portfolio companies where you play leadership and operational roles. Unless that's something you want to do.

:-)

Protoman2050
jonx8262They want quantitative/analytical people. They take engineers and scientists too.

Well, I'm not so sure how quantitative I am, since my job consisted of "look in the literature for a suitable target gene. Create antisense oligonucleotide to prevent translation of an important segment of said gene once it is transcribed into mRNA. Design an experiment to test its effectiveness in vitro and in vivo in mice."

I have very little C++ or mathematical modeling experience. I know how to use C++, just not for financial modeling. I know how to create linked lists and I even wrote a program to simulate an Enigma rotor cipher.

Still, I doubt I'm suitable for S&T

 

I was thinking about equity research myself.

Would I be a good candidate for a private equity or venture capital firm, to seek out potential investments?

What's the average starting salary for equity research analysts, at a well-known firm like GS? I'm currently making somewhere around $150,000 including bonus and stock options, as an assistant VP.

Should I seek out a position at InvestBio (http://www.investbio.com/biotech_company.asp)?

 

so i'm assuming your interest in banking or research stems from the fact that they pay well. if you're really a phd, go look up DE Shaw. They have a computational biology group which does some pretty interesting work, and you'd be making a lot more money even your first year then you would if you went into banking now. pm me if you have any specific questions about DE Shaw and what they do.

 
MarginCallingdon't get career advice from college kids. with your background you should be trying to join a biotech HF or VC

As I suspected. Which ones do you recommend?

 

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