Citi shortens its analyst program to two years as Wall Street fights private equity for young talent

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…