I think impressing the other students is a big factor as well. It's alternately humorous and depressing to hear the way people talk about their mate who got an

I think impressing the other students is a big factor as well. It's alternately humorous and depressing to hear the way people talk about their mate who got an internship at Goldman/Deutschbank/wherever. I guess if you've been pushed all the way through 6th form to get into the most prestigious university you can, once you arrive at said uni you'll soon go looking for the next big shiny famous institution. (That said, it seems the one employer that's even more impressive than an I-Bank is Google - but Google isn't a startup anymore. I wonder how many UK grads would happily join a company that might become the next Google?) Anyway, I've long been a do-what-makes-you-happy-not-what-other-people-think-is-high-status kind of guy, but I think I'd still find it difficult working for a startup in London while encountering people who are my age, half as smart but earning twice as much. For that reason, my post-graduation plans involve me leaving the small, charming and damp island of my birth altogether... And taking an even bigger salary cut for the chance to live in the most exciting country on the planet, China.