Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You don't have a phd, you can't be first author on this paper I'm going to go out on a limb and say that either you're in a very archaic field or institution, or that your PI is not a nice person. In the US at least, even undergraduates are routinely first authors on papers where they did the majority of work.
This was in tandem with a Canadian researcher, so maybe. I suspect that part of it is that I'm not in any sort of academic pipeline (I got out of school with a BSc, essentially apprenticed myself under a nautical engineer for a few years, then opened a workshop).
If you don't need the publication, use that to your advantage: refuse to publish unless you get named first (were applicable) - the other guy can either accept or perish.