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As a first generation college student who is now an adjunct professor, I woulds extend the tightrope metaphor: many of those who grow up rich have known about t
by jccalhoun 10y ago
As a first generation college student who is now an adjunct professor, I woulds extend the tightrope metaphor:
many of those who grow up rich have known about the tightrope their whole life, have seen how everyone around them has managed it, and have been trained to do it. Many of us who grew up poor grew up not knowing anything about tightrope walking until we were thrown on it, didn't have anyone to teach us about it because no one we knew had ever done it, and didn't even know how to get to the other end.
- totalZero 10y agoThat's the real issue: example. It's like the plumber who bills the customer $20,000 for tapping a steam valve with a wrench, not because of the tapping, but for the expertise of knowing where to tap. Kids from rich families are exposed to a lot more information and guidance. I went the route of investment banking, et cetera, and I was flying blind a lot of the time. There was an a-ha moment when I realized that advice from my parents was about as good as random advice, because sometimes they didn't really have a good mental model for my life and career. I took a lot of bad advice before this became clear to me. Meanwhile, one of my buddies could lean on his family for advice because they went the business route before he was born. It's not the cushion, it's the coach on the other side of the rope that makes the difference.