ER for scientists with little finance experience
Hello everyone,
I know it is a bit intrusive to start out in a forum by posing a question, but I thought there is no place better to get some of the answers I seek.
I am hoping to break into equity research and I am in need of a bit of guidance and perhaps a reality check. I have an undergraduate degree in neuroscience from a very well known and respected school and a master's degree in biomedical neurobiology from another well known medical school. I have extensive clinical and core research experience and have applied my expertise as a biotech consultant, helping new medical device companies with product development, etc. I also teach first year medical students preclinical courses at Harvard and BU. Over the course of the last few years, especially as a contracted consultant, I have developed a real passion for markets. In many ways equity research mirrors the methods of scientific research, or at the very least it encompasses a dynamic I am familiar with. I have opted not to continue forward with a PhD (hence my master's degree), since a PhD has no real practical value outside of academia in most respects...I would rather gain more work experience and go to business school. I have been networking aggressively and have passed my resume along and have had some information sessions. However, my real finance exposure in a formal sense is limited...I understand the basics of DCF, can "slowly" work my way through financial statements but I have no real modeling experience or knowledge.
In your opinion, what is my best option? Is my lack of real finance experience despite my industry and academic credentials at brand name institutions a real negative?
Thanks so much for your opinions!
You're very niche. You have great industry experience that is directly applicable to the medtech and bio teams but there are probably only about 100 or so sellside research associate spots in the industry as a whole covering those industries. Since you would be an industry hire have you thought about contacting any headhunters. This is probably the worst timing to get into ER as we are in a structural contraction phase. An MBA can work as you would have access to OCR and your nonfinance background provides the perfect story on why you want to get an MBA.
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