Finance & Life Science Overview

Fellow presentation and intro to your career path

Choosing a career after graduation can be a daunting task. I was in the same situation after completing my bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior and later on, again, when completing my master's degree in biomedical engineering. My name is Myriam Belghiti, I am from Morocco and after abandoning the idea of becoming a physician I knew I wanted to work in a medical-related field but did not know where to start. During my masters I also discovered I had an interest in business and finance as it relates to life science. At the time, these topics seemed worlds apart from each other, but after a lot of research, recommendations, and a push from destiny, I realized there are actually many career opportunities that combine both fields. After a first internship in the business development team of a biotech startup, I eventually settled in the role of equity research associate at a life science-focused investment bank.

If you have been studying a topic in the life sciences and/or finance or are generally looking for jobs in the field, you might find yourself wondering which options for internships/jobs in the world of science are out there.‍

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Business in Life Sciences career options   

This is a non-exhaustive list of career options that marry an interest in finance/business and life sciences:  

• Life Science Consultant
  Provide strategic advice and support clients in life science industry to address their most pressing business challenges such as improving operational efficiency entering new markets or developing new products
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• Biotech Sell Side Research
  Conduct research on biotech companies and provide recommendations to the firm's clients on whether to buy, sell, or hold the stocks of those companies
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• Healthcare Investment Banker
  Provides financial advice and services to healthcare companies, including raising capital, managing risk, and facilitating mergers and acquisitions
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• Business Development for Biotech/Pharma
  Identify and pursue new business opportunities for a biotech or pharmaceutical company including partnerships, collaboration, and licensing deals
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• Venture Capitalist focused on biotech
  Perform due diligence to invest in and provide guidance to early-stage biotech or healthcare companies with high growth potential
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• Healthcare Administrator
  Managing the operations of a healthcare organization
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• Pharma/Biotech Reporter
  Journalist who covers the intersection of health, scientific research, and technology
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• Relationship manager at Biotech Advising Firm
  Seek out new business opportunities and advise clients on products and services that best fit the needs of a biotech company
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• Investor Relations
  Developing and maintaining strong customer relationships
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• Private Equity focused on Life Science
  Source investment opportunities and provide due diligence and deal structuring for investments within the life science field
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• Business Development for Biotech Startup
  Identifies and pursues strategic opportunities for a start-up

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Main hard skills you use on daily basis in your current job

1. Writing Skills
   I spend most of my time writing as an equity research associate. We produce reports and notes on the ongoings of the biotech industry as well as our recommendations on how one should invest based on these pieces of news. It is important to communicate clearly and effectively and therefore have appropriate writing skills.  

2. Technology Expertise
   Excel is one of the most important tech skills in the finance industry. As equity research associate, we use excel to build models and predict future revenues and get to a company’s price target. We frequently update these models every quarter.  

3. Technology Expertise
   ‍Powerpoint is also a very important way for us to communicate our reports to the investor community. It is important to be comfortable using PowerPoint. We usually publish our first initation of coverage report in the form of powerpoint whereas future notes are usually on a word form.

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Soft skills you use on daily basis in your current job

1. Analytical Thinking and Strategic Thinking Skills
   We have to be able to make informed recommendations based on many aspects and especially the data produced by a biotech. This requires both analytical and strategic thinking to interpret scientific data and in turn predict how things will play out in the future.  

2. Communication & Interpersonal Skills
   Communication is key for an equity research associate both in writing and speaking. You are required to speak on a company and know a biotech space in and out. You will need to speak to many different stakeholders including investors, management teams, and key opinion leaders and you will need to learn to adapt your communication to the person in front of you in order to make the most of each interaction.  

3. Teamwork
   ‍In equity research you usually work with a team and it is therefore important to interact appropriately with each stakeholder. It is important to align with the rest of the team in order to contribute as much as possible to each project.

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Your personal path

My path to my current position has been very difficult and long winded. In school I have always been interested in the sciences. I was first interested in becoming a medical doctor especially given I came from a family of medical doctors. Columbia University, which is the school I attended as an undergraduate, did not offer a pre-med major and recommended we take a science major and complete the requirements for a pre-med (organic chemistry, biology etc) independently. I chose Neuroscience and Behavior because I thought it was the most interesting, complex and where I would learn the most.

After I graduated, I found a position in a research lab in order to help my medical school applications where I was doing some bench work. I quickly realized that it wasn’t for me because the repetitiveness required was not something I enjoyed. Furthermore, I realized that becoming a medical doctor meant you lost a lot of control over where you lived geographically. I moved to the US to live in New York and was not willing to give that up, to go to school/practice somewhere else. Given the dedication the medical doctor’s path required I realized I should probably pivot away from medical school.

During my first job search I quickly realized that the title of engineer was in very high demand. For this reason, I decided to pursue a master’s in biomedical engineering in NYC at Columbia University again. During my masters I took an entrepreneurship class where we learned about the business/finance aspect of biotech and specifically biotech startups. I found myself really enjoying these topics and further pursued opportunities both in the classroom and outside where I could learn more about investing in biotech. After I graduated, I joined a startup in the business development dept where I helped mostly the CFO with his various projects. I then realized I wanted a more structured opportunity and looked for a job in consulting/banking. I applied to every job I could find an opening for whether it be on indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn  or directly through company websites. I also contacted anyone in my network who had experience in either banking or consulting and asked if they could share my resume with the recruitment team. The interview process was very long including take home deliverables, multiple rounds of both behavioral and technical interviews cumulating in a super day. I was scheduled for multiple super days (3-4) but this was in the month of May 2020. Suddenly with the insurgence of COVID-19, people were no longer going to the office and the super days got pushed back until eventually recruiting was frozen and the super days were all cancelled one by one. After the months I spent prepping and the many previous interviews I had done to get to that point, I found myself really struggling to overcome this challenge. However, given COVID-19 ignited a spark in biotech and the markets were in an up-trajectory even if the consulting jobs remained frozen, banking eventually started recruiting again. Eventually, I found myself offered an opportunity in equity research at a life sciences focused firm where I could learn more and more about finance and biotech.

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