Why would people go into Equity Research out of college?

I've heard you can get into VC from ER. Not sure how true that actually is, though.

Someone who actually finds that type of work interesting

Someone who had connections in equity research

Someone who wanted to be in a certain geographical area for whatever reason

Someone who wants to work hard but not as many hours as banking

Someone who couldn't get into banking but wants to earn more than the average Joe or potentially switch over later

Someone who had no idea what they were doing and applied for the job randomly

Who knows ... everyone has their own reason. I certainly don't think it is a bad profession to have.

I don't know what city you're in. The ER teams I know here all work like 7:30-6pm. That's nothing!! Everyone in HK is working some 8am-10pm on some HK$14000 per month.

I would get into and am trying to get into equity research because its something I actually enjoy. I enjoy the process of researching and analyzing data.

Yeah, I actually would have preferred to do do equity research...only had 2 interviews in research, though, and no offers, so now I'm doing banking. Better hours, slightly less money, but it seems like more interesting work to me.

I think equity research looks like nice work. I've been told the pay is a little less than iBanking but you have the option of having a life, you shouldn't get too stressed, and the job itself is interesting - understand a business inside and out, try to reach an accurate valuation based on its prospects, and see if you are proved right by market prices over time. You are part of a small team and can work on your own. As far as exit opportunities go, I've been told that you can get to the buyside via mutual funds or even PE/VC. All round it seems like a good deal.

Two other aspects of ER I find attractive - firstly, the investigative side. Calling up senior management or financial officers to get a clearer vision of how the company is doing. Visiting their stores or construction sites to see their progress for yourself. That seems pretty cool. Secondly, communicating these ideas to clients and other potential investors through publications or conferences. I like public speaking so explaining my research to an interested audience sounds like it could actually be fun.

I find ER to be much more interesting work than IB personally and I also think the exit opps to the buy side (HF, VC, PE, and beyond) are great after a sell-side stint + CFA + MBA type route.

how much do people in ER make first year out?

I am pulling a guaranteed minimum of 79k not located in NY or SF, which really makes a difference. Hours aren't bad at all (~70/week) with extremely limtied hours on weekends. I initially wanted to do banking, but a great opp came across in research that I was glad to jump on. I do agree with Jotah in that ER can lead to a bunch of different buy-side opps, but doesn't have a specific career path ala IB to PE. I am still trying to decide my next move after analyst stint, but I got a lot of time, literally, to figure it out.