In equity research, you're either the publishing analyst or their right-hand man, everyone else is expendable. Even the analysts aren't safe—management has definitely poached fresh talent without warning. As an associate, I was treated like an afterthought, with little to no mentorship or even basic courtesy for the little things from my team. This wasn't just detrimental to me—it hurt the team's overall efficiency—and the relationship quickly turned toxic. At first, I thought it was ridiculous to assume someone with over a decade of experience could feel threatened by a new guy, until you realize this is a sad game of corporate musical chairs.
Management loved to throw around the word "family," but it couldn't have been further from the truth (in fact, they let me go after announcing I had a baby on the way!) Walking through the equity research floor, you'd see a lot of orange pill bottles—anti-anxiety meds, blood pressure medication most likely.
The experience was awful. The inter-team sabotage reminded me of that scene in World War Z where zombies climb over each other to scale a wall—except here, the "wall" is job security. This is Corporate America at its finest.
