5 ms·
The problem is that going to Stanford is skewing your definition of what "failing at life" is and of what a "good job" is.
by throwawayadvsec 3y ago
The problem is that going to Stanford is skewing your definition of what "failing at life" is and of what a "good job" is.
- TrackerFF 3y agoFor sure. When the majority if your (elite school) class "meet expectation" by going to the same elite jobs, getting a normal job can seem like a failure in life - even though that job would be pretty sweet for the majority of the nation. When I went to business school, a bunch of the grads went to investment banks, consulting firms, hedge funds, private equity, PM roles at tech firms, and the likes. At the same time, some of my classmates felt deeply unsatisfied that they "only" got offers from big 4 firms.
- compiler-guy 3y agoThis assumes way too much, and all of it without any evidence. In particular, it assumes that my entire sense of what constitutes success and failure comes from my admittedly elite education. But it has been decades since I graduated, and I have seen a lot of life since that time. In the decades since we graduated, plenty of my classmates have dealt with suicidal behavior, long term disabilities due to alcoholism or stronger drugs, repeated failed marriages, and a complete inability to hold down a job. Elite education sets you up for success, but it doesn’t just hand it to you once you get it. Plenty of people screw it up big time. The self-destructive behavior described in the article can continue in other walks of life and it does catch up. Especially as you get further away from your college days.