CR vs ER

Hey everyone,

So I've been doing some reading on credit research and have a few questions for anyone familiar with that area of expertise on mainly the sell side; however all inputs are welcome.

In equity research, the way I understand it is that an analyst "rates" an equity (buy,sell,hold,etc.) along with a proper dissection of its financials. What kind of recommendations can credit researchers make?

I am interested in working in CR and have had a past internship doing it at a small boutique. While you may view me as stupid for having done some of the work of a CR analyst, yet still being seemingly clueless, I really didn't learn much about the higher functions of the role. My job was running the models and numbers and writing up a perspective on the company.

Another question is what are the demands for CR analysts on the buy side? Who are your typical CR guys? Anything useful would be great.

While I maintain that I did do CR in the summer, the shop I worked at was quite an exception of the norm and I don't think it gave me a proper understanding of the role of CR, aside from the research that I did.

Thanks in advance!