The Prestige Trap: finance, big tech, and consulting

Post by vikinghckr » Sat, Nov 14, 2020, 8:10 PM UTC

hailwren wrote: post #80

whimsicalism wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 5 year EV is much lower in tech than finance for Harvard grads. I'm not sure ab consulting. Based on what? This is not true in my experience, unless you're comparing finance tech to FANG tech, in which case it is true. Moreover, at Harvard, some segment of those who go into finance are "connected" with higher paying finance jobs due to their parents/etc. Consulting salaries are lower (sometimes substantially) than…

Yeah, tech has a starting salary advantage but FAANG just doesn't compare on the upside. What's the top 10% of FAANG outcomes (for Harvard grads) after 5 years? 500k, maybe? The jump to MD in finance makes 1M+ something like 10-20% of outcomes (for Harvard grads) after 10 years. I'd be very surprised if it were that common in tech (over the next 10 years, I know that it was better in the 2000s). I think quickest to M…

Post by currymj » Sat, Nov 14, 2020, 8:24 PM UTC

bla3 wrote: post #21

> For the majority of Ivy Leaguers, the most impressive thing they've accomplished is achieving admission to their university. Is this a common view in the US? In central Europe, the view is that ivy leagues are for people who need external validation so much that they are willing to pay through the nose for it. This view explains the rest of the article too.

Post by pmoriarty » Sat, Nov 14, 2020, 8:41 PM UTC

esoterica wrote: post #87

jeffbee wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I evaluated their lack of a functioning moral framework to conclude they couldn't possibly perform a function in my organization because ethics are much more important than the ability to traverse directed graphs in pseudo-code on whiteboards. If a candidate told me they got fired for intentionally sabotaging Palantir's production operations, that would neutralize the issue. So far haven't met that person.

You seem very confident they won’t find anything morally objectionable with your company and decide to sabotage your operations.

Post by rhizome » Sat, Nov 14, 2020, 8:48 PM UTC

hailwren wrote: post #60

scarmig wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the average Ivy League graduate only makes marginally more money than your public school graduate I'm pretty sure that's not true. I doubt there's much of an actual value-add in going to an elite school, but the average incomes of graduates of them are substantially higher than that of random public school graduates. https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/bachelors

Yes, and the gap grows even wider when you normalize for per-professional degree percentages (i.e. STEM/pharm/premed/prelaw/military inflating the bottom half of the curve)

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Nov 14, 2020, 8:54 PM UTC