A sociologist I met described it as the "generation effect" which is that people live in a cohort of other people about their same age +/-10 years. Throughout o

A sociologist I met described it as the "generation effect" which is that people live in a cohort of other people about their same age +/-10 years. Throughout one's life the composition of the cohort changes as you begin to specialize starting with college/first job and continuing if you focus on a particular area (for me it has been systems analysis). This effect can drive people to over-pay to go to "good schools" or work for less than they think they should be paid at the "good places to work" because it lets them join a cohort with members who are statistically more likely to be "successful" (for some arbitrary definition of success). I personally never paid much attention to it but thought about it when talking with this person. I know from experience that it happens in Silicon Valley that someone will say, "Oh I know someone at some previous company who is really good at that, let me see if they would be willing to change jobs." That is why companies pay people bonuses for "referrals." I suspect it happens in LA in the entertainment industry as well. If you watch the old American television series "ER"[1]. Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment production company, it is amazing to see people who were on that show first as guest actors and then show up later in series. [1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108757/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108757/