Research Analyst

See: Research Associate. See: Research Report. See: Research Note.

The analyst role is the bottom rung on the ladder in banking. It goes, from bottom to top: Analyst, Associate, VP, Director, Managing Director, and then a bunch of other, higher level fancy titles. If you're a research analyst, expect to get coffee. Seriously. (Leave room for cream always.) You'll download 10Qs and 10Ks. You'll type in a lotta numbers. You won't be asked to opine much (if at all) on whether a given stock is a buy, sell, or hold.

That's if you live in the brokerage side of the business. If you're on the corporate finance/investment banking side, then you'll not be asked to approach the CEO of Disney with strategically clever share buyback ideas. You'll just fill out forms and prep papers for your bosses and listen. Do a lot of that your first few years.