Maybe, just maybe, it’s not such a bad time to be working in an investment bank with a couple of years’ experience under your belt.

Bonuses are slightly up this year, firms are said to be choosing expensive senior bankers rather than hard-working juniors for cuts and, should you wish to take the oft-trod path of switching to a private equity firm, there are plenty of options available to you.

Because investment banks’ class of 2009 analyst intake was comparatively small, private equity firms targeting juniors with a couple of years banking under their belt are struggling to find enough candidates, suggest recruiters.

“There’s a strong demand for juniors within private equity firms, and candidates with two years’ investment banking experience – where they’ve learnt the ropes, are still willing to do some analytical leg-work, but want to take on more responsibility – are ideal candidates,” says Gail McManus, managing director of Private Equity Recruitment. “Unfortunately, while demand is increasing, the candidate pool has remained small.”

Yet, in the US at least, more junior investment bankers want to leave. Pay is less predicated on individual performance, yet the hours remain just as punishingly long, and 60% of 2,000 analysts surveyed by headhunter Capstone said they wanted to move to the buy-side. As we’ve pointed out previously, some first year analysts are being paid just 12.50 an hour.

The appeal of private equity in Europe hasn’t really been enhanced recently, though. Fund raising in the US and Asia has picked up in the second quarter, research from Preqin suggests, but European-focused funds are still lagging behind, having raised $9.8bn during this period. What’s more, an increasing number of banks are now spinning out their own private equity functions as separate entities as a result of Basel III pressures, it says.

Sadly, for MBAs, who are currently already concerned about the number of investment banking opportunities available, the picture’s not so great.

“Our associate level hires have now skewed to 75% pre-MBA and 25% post-MBA,” says McManus. “If you can combine an MBA with investment banking experience, you’ll make most firms’ shortlists, but private equity companies believe MBAs alone don’t add as much value as experience within an investment bank.”