I was wondering which firms and roles I'd have the best shot at as a life science PhD.
I have a somewhat non-traditional resume for IB:
-Undergrad from non-target school but with 99 percentile score
-PhD from a top tier school (target school for quants) w/ well known advisor
-Biotech corporate VC (1yr+ experience)
-Some startup experience in Asia
Would I be competitive applying for equity research associate position at top firms?
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Yes you would but if I can be honest, your talent would he half wasted doing ER. I would see a profile like this better suited in life science consulting. Then again, it's personal choice
Thanks for the reply. Ultimately my goal is to be a biotech investment specialist at a hedge fund (or other buy-side role). Would consulting still be the best choice then? I have interviewed w/ MBB and a boutique before taking the current position and didn't do so well in case interviews... (not good at "consultant" kind of delivery)
For HFs, IB is still your best route as it is more direct. If you went into consulting you would have to be exposed to some DD work, pivot to a life science PE firm and they perhaps you could land at an HF.
Even with your HF goal in mind, you should probably aim for IB M&A roles rather than ER and there are lots of life science specific/heavy firms out there: Centerview Partners, Ferghana Partners, Leerink, Torreya Partners etc.
I don't think you need to go to the sell-side to go buyside. Plenty of people with your background end up at healthcare funds. But didn't you already work at a corporate biotech vc? Why did you leave that job?
Thanks. I'll look into those firms then. I hear a lot about Leerink but haven't yet heard of the others. Do they assist in running the numbers on biotech M&As for pharmas?
Haven't left the job, but definitely would like to for reasons I don't want to dwell on...
Yes, all the others I mentioned are pharma/biotech exclusive whilst Centerview does multiple industries but gets all the big pharma deals
Check DOC jobs. I see a posting almost every other day for folks who have a PhD.
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