M&A to S&T

Everyone - I have a few questions on S&T as a career and how to break in. I have spent my whole career in M&A (2 years at relatively unknown investment banks and currently in Corp Dev). I also have been learning Python to get a leg up. I also follow the news and invest personally. Undergrad in finance and willing to pursue a masters. These are a lot of questions but any thoughts would be great: 

1) Which desks would be most interested in my background/what desks should I target? 
 

2) What are S&T folks typically looking for in their people? Would sending stock pitches in cold emails help me stand out?
 

3) What kind of people excel in S&T? 
 

4) What do you not enjoy about your job? 
 

5) Typically 60 hours/week and no weekends? 
 

6) Are there any good books/resources you recommend on market finance? I learned a bit about CDS/MBS/other non-vanilla equities stuff in college but have forgotten

7) Any thoughts on office politics? Or is it the people who help generate P&L are rewarded?

 8) If you were in my shoes, what would you do? 
 

Extremely bored of the endless powerpoints and performative bullshit in M&A. Bankers and corporate folks are also a bit annoying and even dumb at times (although who isn’t lol). Hours are shit. Just really looking for a change and think my personality and interests lie in the markets. I’m also recruiting for research roles but I’m probably more of a people person than an academic. Thanks all!