Choosing between becoming a banker or a private equity analyst is akin to the story of the tortoise and the hare. While junior bankers toil with $80,000 salaries in their early years cultivating the fundamentals of finance that will one day bring them success, their counterparts in private equity can make up to $300,000 per year, owning assets and making big decisions.
The result is a blitz of MBA graduates looking for big names in private equity earlier rather than the less-glitzy promise of a steady career in banking. And as Wall Street continues to swat away threats from private equity to poach young talent, Citi is the latest bank to make changes to retain its junior workforce.
