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Tech's diversity crisis: 40% of VCs went to Harvard or Stanford

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Re: Tech's diversity crisis: 40% of VCs went to Harvard or Stanford

#21

Post by verylongname »

Tech seems to be converging to the norms of other highly paid professions. I'd bet that at least 40% of Goldman Sachs' hires come from Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

How about the big law firms? I know they don't really hire much outside of the Top 14 law schools, and I wouldn't be surprised if the top few schools provide 40%-50% of their hires.

I think the discussion has to be broader than just tech ... America is looking an awful lot like an oligarchy with a caste system. Especially when you consider the recent articles about Ivy League admissions policies.

And this seems to have accelerated in the last 30-40 years. It seems to me that in the past it was much more common to see very successful and highly placed people from humble backgrounds, with degrees from schools I've never heard of, or good regional schools which aren't the Ivies. Now it is dreadfully monotonous, with a huge percentage of people in leadership roles from Yale, Princeton, Harvard or Stanford and whose parents have similar backgrounds.

Re: Tech's diversity crisis: 40% of VCs went to Harvard or Stanford

#22

Post by nojvek »

harperben wrote: post #3

Perhaps in this case educational background is a proxy for "family's connectedness to network of influential/rich people." It's much easier to get your foot in the door when your pops can make a call to have someone open it.

When it’s insanely competitive to get into a school, schools may also use previous student recommendations as a proxy. So you end up with a echo chamber.

Re: Tech's diversity crisis: 40% of VCs went to Harvard or Stanford

#23

Post by zhonwang »

extragood wrote: post #17
zhonwang wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So more than Professional Sports?

Moneyball by Michael Lewis says yes. This is from memory, but baseball scouts historically rely heavily on athletic appearances (what they think a good pitcher, hitter, etc looks like), more than hard stats.

Wasn't the whole point of Moneyball that the A's were able to perform far above their level and salary cap based on evaluating players on hard stats and not appearances? Not sure what your point is.

Re: Tech's diversity crisis: 40% of VCs went to Harvard or Stanford

#24

Post by dublin »

T2_t2 wrote: post #11

So the majority of the people trusted with the money went to two of the best schools in the world? And this is surprising how? And news how? And wrong how? Come on, its HARVARD! HARVARD!!!! Seems like the system os working pretty well to me.

Really? Although the Ivys turn out many great people, they also graduate many stinkers. Several of the most useless people I've worked with or hired have been from "top" schools, and some of the very best have come from "no-name" schools or even no school at all. A fancy degree really means nothing, especially in today's world where simply getting in virtually guarantees both graduation and the inculcation of a poisonous attitude...

Re: Tech's diversity crisis: 40% of VCs went to Harvard or Stanford

#25

Post by dublin »

zhonwang wrote: post #23
extragood wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis says yes. This is from memory, but baseball scouts historically rely heavily on athletic appearances (what they think a good pitcher, hitter, etc looks like), more than hard stats.

Wasn't the whole point of Moneyball that the A's were able to perform far above their level and salary cap based on evaluating players on hard stats and not appearances? Not sure what your point is.

Yep - the real world bows to no one's preconceived notions...
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