Tear up my resume. Want to know if I'm qualified for IB analyst, ER associate, consulting.

I'd like to transition out of my PhD program in molecular biology and into finance. I don't have finance experience, so I'm wondering if I can leverage some transferrable strengths:

-thorough knowledge of the healthcare/biotech industries (previous work in at a Fortune 500 biotech company, academic research into therapeutics, etc)
-strong quantitative skills (data analysis, Excel, MATLAB, etc.) complemented by background in software development

I'm doing my PhD at Cold Spring Habor Laboratory, which is ranked #1 in the world for my field (molecular bio & genetics). Unfortunately, it's an independent institution (non-university), so it's not well known to non-scientists. I'm trying to convey that strength on my resume in a non-tacky way... not sure if I succeeded.

I'd love any feedback on how this resume looks to a finance person. I understand that there's a steep learning curve involved in changing industries, so feel free to tear it apart.

1. Do I have a shot at IB analyst positions?
2, Do I have a shot at Equity Research associate positions in biotech, healthcare, life science tools, etc?
3. Would healthcare consulting be a better fit?

Thanks for your input.

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6 Comments
 
Best Response

Will be blunt, hopefully you do not get upset but here is the truth:

  1. Next to 0% shot as an investment banking analyst/associate
  2. GOOD shot at Equity Research Associate

We partially answered this question in the past but will give you more details on here.

Good. 1. Perceived as smart 2. Industry Knowledge

Bad. 1. No direct experience 2. Relatively old

This sets up okay for Research because... Research associates can be 22-40 years old... Thats a wide band This sets up bad for Investment banking because we want young go getters This sets up good/bad if you have sales experience for a sales & trading job.

Basically the point is this. You know a SPACE well so you want a NICHE spot in that space you know. You want to offset the bad which is the lack of direct finance experience.

Don't know anything about consulting as I understand they make less $$ as they move up the ladder... Kinda joking?

 

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