You will be presented with the full text of a biomedical research paper. Please write an abstract for this paper. Your response should include the abstract and no additional text.

Paper text:
when considering the possibility of leaving academia , i spent a lot of time thinking about why i pursued a phd in the first place .
the positive was never in question : i truly enjoyed the intellectual exercise of learning about molecular biology .
in addition , i enjoyed being part of the scientific community and interacting with the intelligent and clever people who had chosen to pursue academic science .
i also had to acknowledge the negatives : the highly competitive nature of the job , relatively low compensation , and potential for highly disparate career outcomes , even with a consistent commitment to hard work .
the fate of a career could come down to politics ( is there enough funding ? ) , timing ( is this research  hot 
right now ? ) , and just plain luck ( many promising lines of research end up being dead ends ) .
in addition , i was self - aware enough to realize that i was not a standout at the bench , as evidenced by a fellow grad student completing a simple experiment for me because i could not get it to work ( many belated thanks , haeryun ! ) .
i wanted to find a profession that made use of my time in the lab .
i knew people invested in biotech , and i thought that there must be a place for a person who can communicate complex scientific ideas to laypeople .
i made a somewhat capricious and ill - informed decision : i wanted to be on the investment side of the biotech industry .
at that time , i did not know what exactly  the investment side of the biotech industry  meant .
i first thought of venture capital , in which investors take an early - stage idea and build a company around it .
although venture capital is often the type of investment most proximal to the lab , there is a much larger industry based on investment in public companies .
that industry is colloquially known as  wall street ,  and that s where i ended up .
ultimately , all investors in publically traded companies really want to know one thing : whether the price of the stock will go up or down . to determine this , financial institutions employ research analysts who prepare reports about individual companies , assessing their business prospects and identifying them as a  buy  or a  sell .
 those reports are then sent out to external clients ( third - party investors ) or internal clients ( the investment professionals at the analyst s firm ) with the goal of helping these clients make better - informed decisions .
firms that publish reports for external clients , such as investment banks , are often referred to as  sell side  institutions .
firms that invest capital based on the recommendations are on the  buy side . 
this is where phds come in . in evaluating research - based businesses like biotech companies ,
financial firms often need research analysts able to make sense of the relevant science . in the end
, a good analyst will need to have a handle on both the underlying science and the company s business operations .
there are many successful analysts who started in science and learned finance and vice versa .
one of the great aspects of about an analyst is that you get to think very broadly about all of the different aspects of a business . in some ways
, an analyst can evaluate a biotech company in the same way one would evaluate companies in any sector . in biotech , a company makes money and grows by developing and commercializing drugs . at the most basic level ,
biotech companies sell widgets ; it just so happens that the widgets are drugs based on years of scientific research . from an investor s point of view , selling one kind of widget is not so different from selling any other kind .
in other ways , however , biotech companies are unique because the product is highly regulated by governments and paid for by third parties . if the company s drug is in development , issues might include the following : will clinical trials of the drug be successful
if the company s drug has been approved , the issues are different : what is the target market ? are there competitive drugs ? how much can the manufacturer charge for the drug
these clinical , regulatory , and commercial issues can have profound effects on the value of a company . in trying to answer these questions
, an analyst will often consult with experts : physicians on clinical issues , lawyers on intellectual property issues , former government staffers on regulatory issues , and so on .
analysts also have access to high - level company executives to keep abreast of the latest developments within a company and its future plans .
it is not uncommon for me to have better access to management of biotech companies than my former colleagues and friends who work at those companies .
much of the work done to determine the prospects for a business will be distilled down to numbers that estimate its future profits .
the output of this work is a financial model , typically presented in three parts : the income statement , the balance sheet , and the cash flow statement . working with these models
to me , the lab and wall street are interesting inverses of one another . in
both , one does a lot of reading and thinking about biological sciences , but beyond that , there are significant differences . in the lab
, i found the work sometimes repetitive and unrewarding , but i took great pride in the fact that i was attempting to increase the world s body of scientific knowledge . in my current position , i lack that specific sense of satisfaction , but the everyday work is much more dynamic , fast paced , and exciting . as with most jobs ,
unlike the lab , where freedom is often a significant perquisite , one can not dictate one s schedule .
it is very important to understand that not all wall street firms are the same .
i have had a wide range of experiences ( some very good ) at my workplaces , and i would advise anyone to investigate a firm s culture before accepting a position .
i have walked you through some of my experiences in becoming a wall street analyst .
in retrospect , given how little i knew when i started , i am a little surprised that i was able to make the transition .
if i were interviewing the 2005 me today , i would probably dismiss him for not caring enough to learn even the most basic things about the job . for those who have had
their interest piqued , i have a few additional thoughts that should be helpful in searching for an analyst position . 

i m a smart person with scientific expertise , i want out of academia , and i heard this is a place where i can make some money .  you need to convince them that you want to be an analyst , not that you do not want to be a postdoc.look into a specific company . a surprising number of people interview for analyst jobs without ever having looked closely at the workings of an actual company .
learn what you can about an individual business and go into an interview ready to explain why an investor should buy or sell the stock of that company .
one piece of practical advice : sell side analyst recommendations and the holdings of large investors are often public information . before you go in and pitch a company as a sell , it is probably worth knowing whether the analyst has it rated a buy or whether the investor owns a significant stake in the company
. people often respect a well - reasoned argument for why they are wrong about a stock , but it does invite a potentially contentious conversation .
i m a smart person with scientific expertise , i want out of academia , and i heard this is a place where i can make some money .
 you need to convince them that you want to be an analyst , not that you do not want to be a postdoc .
look into a specific company . a surprising number of people interview for analyst jobs without ever having looked closely at the workings of an actual company .
learn what you can about an individual business and go into an interview ready to explain why an investor should buy or sell the stock of that company .
one piece of practical advice : sell side analyst recommendations and the holdings of large investors are often public information .
before you go in and pitch a company as a sell , it is probably worth knowing whether the analyst has it rated a buy or whether the investor owns a significant stake in the company .
people often respect a well - reasoned argument for why they are wrong about a stock , but it does invite a potentially contentious conversation .
i suggest picking a company , specifically one that is developing a drug based on some basic science with which you are familiar .
then think about how the business operates , and ask the questions an analyst might .
nearly all companies have the basic information you will need to get started in the investors section of their website . 

it is not as simple as calculating how much of a drug a company sells .
other contributing factors might include the probability of success on future products and how quickly a company can grow .
it is not as simple as calculating how much of a drug a company sells .
other contributing factors might include the probability of success on future products and how quickly a company can grow .
your instinct as a scientist is likely going to be that you will want to wait for additional incremental pieces of data to prove your hypothesis before taking action .
however , by the time news is made public , the stock price will have already changed to incorporate those data .
the book how to read a financial report by tracy and tracy ( 2014 ) is a useful reference for thinking about what the published numbers mean and how they fit together .
once you have the basics down , the next step is to create a working spreadsheet for a company s financials .
the most important part of the exercise is to then use the spreadsheet to project what a company s financial statement might look like in the future . as mentioned earlier , the job of an analyst is to predict what will happen , not to report what has already happened .
the book how to read a financial report by tracy and tracy ( 2014 ) is a useful reference for thinking about what the published numbers mean and how they fit together .
once you have the basics down , the next step is to create a working spreadsheet for a company s financials .
the most important part of the exercise is to then use the spreadsheet to project what a company s financial statement might look like in the future . as mentioned earlier , the job of an analyst is to predict what will happen , not to report what has already happened .
i started as a junior equity research associate at an investment bank , drafting research reports on biotech companies for third - party investors .
i have since moved on to a more senior position as a research analyst at an investment advisor , where my recommendations are used to make my firm s investment decisions . in my case , this was a reasonable path , given my initial lack of financial experience .
the sell side was a great place to learn about the industry without the intense pressure that can come with a buy side position , where your company might invest millions or even billions of dollars based on your work .
that said , some investors want to hire junior people and train them in - house , keeping them free of biases that sometimes come with working at an investment bank .
when looking for a job opening , one can search job sites for the term  equity research .
 although my experience has been almost exclusively in the biotechnology sector , there are other areas in healthcare in which an advanced degree in the life sciences is applicable .
these include pharmaceuticals , medical devices , and life science tools ( yes , the company that makes your pcr machine is publicly traded , and there are analysts working to determine whether it is a good investment ) .
often , posted jobs will specify a requirement for an advanced degree , generally a phd or an md . often , some background in finance is also suggested . in my experience
, some will forgo the latter requirement for a candidate with a strong academic background who has demonstrated a genuine interest in the markets .
an equity research analyst s job is to determine whether the price of a stock is likely to go up or down . for science - based businesses , particularly biotechnology companies , 
 a phd in the life sciences can be very helpful in making this determination . 
 i transitioned from a postdoc position to working in equity research . here 
 i present information on how i made the transition , an overview of the day - to - day activities of an analyst , and thoughts on how to prepare to look for a job in finance . 
 there are significant positives to working on wall street , including exposure to cutting - edge clinical / translational research , access to some of the best scientists in the world , a dynamic work environment , and compensation that generally exceeds academic salaries . 
 this comes at the cost of some independence and the satisfaction of being able to call oneself a scientist .