How Top-Performing College Grads Fall Into the ‘Prestige Career’ Trap
We funnel our highest achievers into consulting and finance — and it’s hurting all of us
In today’s society, there is a well-established prestige pathway. If you attend a high-ranking university, it’s very likely you’ll end up with a job in consulting and/or investment banking.
In 2017, nearly 40 percent of Harvard graduates took consulting or finance jobs. That statistic remains equal or higher across other Ivy League universities. Most of these graduates end up at the so-called top firms. In consulting, that’s McKinsey, Bain, BCG; in finance, it’s Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan.
This means thousands of bright, hardworking (and privileged) young adults are going to work for only a handful of firms every year. That’s a ridiculously high percentage of graduates concentrated in a couple of industries.
Over decades, these firms have thoroughly and meticulously infiltrated and transformed the culture of these universities, resulting in a staggeringly high conversion rate of graduates into their ranks. As a result, fewer candidates are left for other fields that need them, such as healthcare, education, energy, and environmental science. It’s a very real — and very damaging — brain drain.
