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Apply to MBB. They love PHDs
Referred a friend w those credentials exactly for pharma senior associate role. He was rejected based on resume, not even an interview.
ZS does a ton of pharma work and we have a lot of PhDs in the company so they would fit right in. Most likely an associate consultant position
I know a stack of colleagues who came in with a Ph.D. in the sciences / engineering! As C1 said, it's about problem solving ability and people / soft skills. Some join as generalists and others join specifically dedicated to a related industry. Either way if you haven't had any business-specific education then you'll go through a special training program before you start on the ground.
I have seen many folks getting at Bain in Life sciences or pharma. Have your friend taken any business class ever. Ask him to review those and work on communication skill. Science PhDs are stereotyped and bucketed as people with bad client facing skills and less business acumen
I have a life science PhD. I disagree with EY1, the clients that I work with have more respect for us because of the PhD
@D1 If he has no business knowledge, is a MBA necessary? @EY1 I will let him know about Bain's opportunities.
I do not have an MBA, never taken a business class in my life, it was not an issue when I was interviewing because I was being hired into a niche. That being said I'm sure they felt that I was able to learn the business side quickly
I know bio engineer PhDs at both Deloitte and McKinsey - often that mindset is good for solving consulting problems. Now that I think of it my senior manager is a Ph.D. In biomedical engineering too. Usually they serve LSHC/Pharma clients
But frankly if you just spent 6 years getting a Ph.D. you should look at engineering jobs...
For this kind of niche hires, do they need to go through the same case interview that we did?
I did do a case interview but I literally learned what a case was maybe the week before. The situation is definitely different at McKinsey, bcg etc., they expect you to have more of a business background. there are also plenty of life science boutique firms your friend could check out (clear view and atlas are two that come to mind)
Thought of some more: Huron, L.e.k., the Cambridge group. My school also had a consulting group for interested PhD students to find case partners, your friend might want to check on that too
Can only speak for my firm but there is absolutely zero difference between the cases for an APD (advanced professional degree eg. Ph.D.) and any other incoming candidate. In addition, sorry but have to slightly disagree with D1 - we do not expect candidates to have a more business background (there is an understanding you're applying as an APD). Having said that, to do any sort of case (for any firm) you'd need to be able to understand the fundamentals e.g. Revenue, cost, profit etc....
@mckinsey1, ah ok I have limited experience with you guys but that was my impression talking to people when I was interviewing. Clearly people have different experiences 😀
No worries D1! :-)