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If the only position higher than analyst is called "Associate Director", then is the "analyst" position equivalent to "associate"? There is no "associate" position in my company. Typically a fresh graduate with Ph.D. is hired as "analyst" and over a period of 3 or 4 years get promoted to "associate Director". In another 1 or 2 years I have seen a couple of "associate director" getting promoted as "Director".Any input will be appreciated. Thanks!

Each company has a different way of naming their positions. I think that you may not be able to compare an "analyst" in one firm with an "analyst" in another firm because they may be doing totally different things. Besides, it is the kind of work that you do that really sets your position in the firm rather than your title. Say, if you had only two titles in your firm: analyst and associate. If you are the best analyst, you may end up doing more meaningful work than some associates.

As CSA says it varies, and it is the case that some firms use "better" job title as a cheap way of looking like they are offering you a better job.Thus you need to look at the objective situaiotn.1: Where do you sit ?2: Do you get to make decisions ?3: Are there people whose job it is to assist your work ?4: Which bonus pool are you in ?

Well, while discussing analyst / associate positions, I feel we have ignored the fact that it depends on whether one is working in a pure Equity Research house or an IB.It has been generally found that in ER, an Associate position is lower than that of an Analyst while in an IB, it is the other way round. Hence, if you shift from one to the other, you should be clear of what position you are being offered. For your reference, I am listing the hierarchy.Equity Research:Jr Research Associate (found in some companies)>>>>Research Associate>>>>Research Analyst>>>>Senior Research Analyst.IB:Analyst>>>>Senior Analyst>>>>Associate>>>>Associate VP>>>>VP>>>>Director>>>>Managing Director.Regards,Lubbermuchhio.