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This stood out for me: "In terms of industry choice, athletes are far more likely to go into business and Finance related jobs than their non-athlete classmate

This stood out for me: "In terms of industry choice, athletes are far more likely to go into business and Finance related jobs than their non-athlete classmates. In terms of advanced degrees, Ivy League athletes are more likely to get an MBA and to receive it from an elite program, although they are less likely to pursue an M.D., a Ph.D., or an advanced STEM degree. " So, not so much that Ivy League athletes out earn their peers, but that they are more likely to prioritize money and choose careers that pay more in the first place.

hotnfresh 3y ago
Yeah, athletes and business degrees are a stereotypical combo and an Ivy League business degree means good earnings unless you’re a total fuck-up (and if you were a total fuck-up, you were probably weeded out way before becoming and Ivy athlete). No surprises here. Major determines earning range, and athletes tend to pick one of the better majors for that.
ylee 3y ago
> So, not so much that Ivy League athletes out earn their peers, but that they are more likely to prioritize money and choose careers that pay more in the first place. I have only read the abstract, but does the paper control for networking? (Is that even possible? I presume by "resume data" the authors mean LinkedIn, but surely they mean individual profiles; I doubt they persuaded every single Ivy graduate to reveal linked profiles.) It's well known that Ivy League athletic teams are very effective referral networks for jobs, and that Wall Street is always a popular destination. That said, I am an Ivy League graduate who did not play a sport in school. I learned after the fact that among those I had beaten out for my first job, at an investment bank's technology group,[1] was an Ivy League QB who had transferred from a Division I school. (I'd even read about him in the Wall Street Journal.) I am an immigrant and my family had zero connections to Wall Street. I still don't know how I did it. [1] Not the IT department

hotnfresh 3y ago

Yeah, athletes and business degrees are a stereotypical combo and an Ivy League business degree means good earnings unless you’re a total fuck-up (and if you were a total fuck-up, you were probably weeded out way before becoming and Ivy athlete). No surprises here. Major determines earning range, and athletes tend to pick one of the better majors for that.

ylee 3y ago

> So, not so much that Ivy League athletes out earn their peers, but that they are more likely to prioritize money and choose careers that pay more in the first place. I have only read the abstract, but does the paper control for networking? (Is that even possible? I presume by "resume data" the authors mean LinkedIn, but surely they mean individual profiles; I doubt they persuaded every single Ivy graduate to reveal linked profiles.) It's well known that Ivy League athletic teams are very effective referral networks for jobs, and that Wall Street is always a popular destination. That said, I am an Ivy League graduate who did not play a sport in school. I learned after the fact that among those I had beaten out for my first job, at an investment bank's technology group,[1] was an Ivy League QB who had transferred from a Division I school. (I'd even read about him in the Wall Street Journal.) I am an immigrant and my family had zero connections to Wall Street. I still don't know how I did it. [1] Not the IT department