Non-Life Science Background for HC PE

Say you are at a MM Bank in their HC group - is it worth staying in HC if you don't have a life science/bio background? I feel like nearly all the buyside roles in HC love / only hire these backgrounds (vs an Infra PE team only wanting to hire a person with an Engineering degree/background).

Feel like there is no point to staying in this coverage because it will just fuck me when it comes to buyside recruiting.

Don't get me wrong, I am not aiming for KKR Healthcare but I still want to be able to have a genuine chance working for a good UMM / MM fund (in their Healthcare team).

Any insight from people in HC teams i.e. what do you guys look for? I noticed before a good chunk of people hired were just classic finance bros but now it seems the weighting has shifted way more towards hiring actual doctors/PhDs/advanced degree holders.

8 Comments
 

? i feel like healthcare buyout has plenty of non science majors? different for like biotech/medtech VC/crossover/royalties, but doesn’t rlly seems to be a limiting factor especially from first principles of the job

 

My group is mainly biotech, also my bad - should have been clear. I am in Europe so seats are limited - most I've seen posted or heard about, majority seem to be from life sciences. 

 

check if it’s life sciences services teams or therapeutics, if u know u wanna do biotech investing (pre-commercial) then yep it’s gonna be difficult, but at least in the us there’s plenty of finance ppl doing life sciences services

 

Arent most PE deals in HCIT or HC Services anyways? Only the biotech/life sci ones look for PhDs

 

Quis quia ea aliquid. Eveniet rerum alias consectetur excepturi voluptate fugiat. Dolores sunt excepturi nulla.

Est voluptatum a non nemo assumenda perferendis sed est. Iusto beatae sed atque et assumenda omnis. Enim earum neque tenetur repellat facilis cum qui exercitationem. Quos quisquam ut cum consequatur in sequi dolor. Occaecati dolores quo nam tempore error ipsam nemo.

Itaque illum vel illum animi perferendis cupiditate ipsum aut. Et voluptatem fugit necessitatibus esse corporis veritatis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.2%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Bain Capital 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Private Equity

  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.2%
  • Ardian 98.9%
  • Blackstone Group 98.5%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.2%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (97) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (234) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (95) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (271) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (37) $80
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (351) $61
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”