former

My sense is that sell side research is considered the gateway to the buy side.

As for compensation, I suspect that the upside potential for mediocre work is higher than on the buy side. But it's hard for me to accept that top analysis talent is not rewarded sufficiently on the buy side to keep them from going back to the sell side.

Sell side researchers get more publicity, so if you like the shine of the spotlight, you're likely to get more as a sell side analyst than a buy side analyst. On the buy side, PMs generally get more show than analysts.