What do people do in their down time throughout the day?

Hi, I feel like I'm so bored every day outside of earnings season. What do people do in their down time? For context, I'm in the office 7:30 to 5 purely for optics and realistically even if I came in at 9am, I'm sure I'll be bored by 4. I'm not from a traditional finance background, more of an industry hire and now without needing to study for licensing exams, I'm racking my brain everyday to figure out how to look busy. Am I just having a very atypical experience? The team is just me and my MD. I also want to be a publishing analyst more than exiting or finding another role and think ER is fun while there's something to do. Associates around me have said 'there's always something to do' in research but I'm struggling to find good uses of my time. Any suggestions or book recommendations?

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Sounds like a very abnormal experience. But if you're going to be mostly self directed you need to take initiative. Your job is to help your boss in analysis. There's always new work you could be doing. Looking into an emerging trend. Doing research to suggest new report ideas (whether thematic, single stock based or otherwise). Seeking collaboration with other teams. Client requests (assuming you're selling side)??? If your boss isn't sending any your way, ask for them. 

Your job to put it simply is research. That's the job. You are paid to learn stuff and tell other people about it in a commercial way. So do that.

 

Thanks for the reply, maybe I'm feeling too self conscious about all the random and often mindless googling I do all day and for being relatively new (started in May). Client requests are rare but maybe that's a reflection of the coverage right now (22 companies where most are smid cap biotechs and the most investors usually want is a 30 min meeting). I'll take your advice on looking into emerging trends and thematic report ideas though, thank you. 

Good to know this is abnormal too, maybe I should feel less at edge and more thankful of my scenario..

 

@nutmegger189  Thanks for the reply, maybe I'm feeling too self conscious about all the random and often mindless googling I do all day and for being relatively new (started in May). Client requests are rare but maybe that's a reflection of the coverage right now (22 companies where most are smid cap biotechs and the most investors usually want is a 30 min meeting). I'll take your advice on looking into emerging trends and thematic report ideas though, thank you. 

Good to know this is abnormal too, maybe I should feel less at edge and more thankful of my scenario..

 

Bro you are in smid bio and can’t find anything to do? Seriously? What’s the next readout you have under your coverage? When’s the next competitor data coming? What questions do you have about competitive positioning that could use a KOL or three to explain to you? Have you read all the major scientific papers published by your companies over the L12M? If someone asked you about a therapeutic area in your coverage, could you lay out the landscape for them and say where your names fit in? If someone asked for a N6M rundown of key catalysts they should be paying attention to, could you speak intelligently on it?

Taking a step back further, did you even read all the prior notes written on your names by your analyst yet? What about reading notes from the other biotech teams at your shop? If you don’t have ideas, how about asking other associates for some recommendations or advice?

You will never get your own coverage if you stay as passive as you are now. You’re 4 months into the job when you should be an absolute sponge and fiending to learn about how to work in a field you wish to stay in, but you’re on here asking for book recommendations? Peak ngmi

 

Next major readouts are Q4 OTL i have read all notes and papers, most are 1 page notes anyways. I love papers and have read all the ones by our newer companies and major ones from older coverage that I can access but most companies in p2 p3 don't really publish outside their clinical trials, posters, and a couple nhp studies here and there. The private companies have really fun mechanistic and intricate details in their papers but for public companies with products with established mechanisms that have been explained clearly already, its more about outcomes in clinic anyways. Idk I feel as though there's gotta be a way to be more useful. 

 

Ok I mean sure you can take the “I am actually a savant I have completed all of these advanced maintenance tasks that are required of me” approach to the job. I highly doubt you have read (and fully understand) all the relevant academic and clinical trial papers underlying every MoA and clinical trial in your coverage pipeline, or that you can speak intelligently on all competitors (current and past failures) in the TAs such that if a client were to ask you about the details, you’d be able to discuss timelines and catalysts and data expectations and competitive positioning on demand. Also don’t believe you have data previews drafted for all of your Q4 major readouts, which include a review of all clinical data for the program to date, clinician expectations, and bogey whispers based on convos with mgmt and buyside. If this is indeed the case, then congrats, you are actually biotech Rain Man and are destined for greatness!

Either that, or maybe you are just lazy bro

 

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