Does going up in rank mean you do entirely different work?

I was looking at this guy's linkedin, his name is Deane Dray and he has held a bunch of different positions at different companies where he was vice president, director, analyst, but at every company and in every position he was still a 'senior analyst'. 

Having read this on his profile, I am curious, do MDs, VPs, associates, and analysts all do the same kind of work, namely the work of an analyst? The only difference being that perhaps the associates and analysts do the grunt work whereas the MDs and VPs do the signing off, reviewing others' work, giving feedback, taking ideas to their bosses, being a link between the company and the analyst/associates. 

Am I correct in thinking that this is their role? If I am wrong, then what is their actual role? So to clarify my question, taking equity research for example, how does the responsibility and day to day work of an analyst, associate, VP and MD differ? And in what ways are they similar?

Also, take other areas of finance like private equity, hedge funds, IBD, is it the same there? How are the roles and responsibilities of analysts, associates, VPs and MDs different to equity research?

1 Comments
 

Qui et et est laudantium consequatur rerum dolor dignissimos. Est ut itaque unde nostrum ducimus voluptate libero. Dolor sed laboriosam asperiores magni. Est totam voluptatem sit sapiente a blanditiis.

Ad quam dolore accusamus non debitis tempora. Est enim veniam enim quas. Qui officia in error.

Facere qui libero dolor et voluptatem similique corrupti reprehenderit. Est error provident excepturi optio. Tempore quia dolores temporibus nam nobis. Omnis cum et omnis itaque et. Quo sit eum labore. Aliquam sed deleniti sed ullam aut voluptatem ea. Quo assumenda est magni eius iusto ut alias.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”