Ambition, the Elite Job Market, and the Information Gap
How lack of information keeps middle and lower-class students out of high-paying jobs.
A little over two and a half years ago, I made the transition from a Midwest public high school to Yale. I expected the biggest culture shock to be learning to use “summer” as a verb, or maybe remembering to tie one of those preppy sweaters around my neck. As it turned out, the biggest shock was my introduction to the elite job market.
A huge proportion of Yale students go into three sectors: finance, consulting, and tech. In 2020, more Yale graduates went into these three fields than the next 16 industries combined. It’s not just the fields, either: a significant percentage of graduates go to a small number of highly prestigious firms. This state of affairs is so entrenched at elite universities that students often respond to queries about their post-graduation plans with what initially sounded to my uninitiated ears like a cryptic code: “MBB” (that’s McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, the top three consulting firms), or “PE” (private equity) or “FAANG” (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix1, Google).
Apart from a vague interest in programming, these were jobs I was more or less totally unaware of in high school. Until age 18, I had never met a single person who worked in consulting or finance. Elite colleges like Stanford and the Ivy League have entered the public consciousness, but as far as employers go I was only barely cognizant of McKinsey and totally clueless about Two Sigma. I was taken aback when I realized that these jobs represented the life goal of so many of my peers.
Perhaps more shocking to me was just how lucrative these positions are. For STEM majors, making $30,000 in the course of a three-month summer internship is not uncommon, and starting compensation is often well north of $100,000. If you’re a math whiz, companies like Jane Street and Citadel will pay interns close to $100/hour, with five-digit signing bonuses.
The fact that I and many of my high school classmates had never even considered these opportunities was absolutely mind-boggling to me. The students who are hired by these firms are very smart, but not unimaginably so; in high school, I personally knew at least four or five students who I would rank among the very brightest of my peers at Yale. The students who take these positions are often well connected, but it is by no means a prerequisite; in fact, the hiring process at top firms is more meritocratic than elsewhere, with a heavy emphasis placed on standardized exams.
It’s not that the work is onerous or unexciting. Take a personal example of this phenomenon. The summer after my freshman year, I worked in a warehouse. It was a fine job, but I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoyed it. The next summer I spent some time applying to tech internships and ended up in a position that I loved and paid more than twice as much. Next summer, I plan to work in a role that I am even more excited about and will pay twice as much again. The fact that such extreme Pareto improvements are possible deeply offends my Intro Econ sensibilities.
If it’s not a lack of smarts or connections or hatred of the work, why do so few public school students from the Midwest pursue careers in finance, consulting, and tech? It seems to be a deeply puzzling failure of the labor market.
The answer, as best I can tell, is an information gap. The biggest barrier to these highly lucrative careers is that one must target top firms early, applying for internships and new grad positions up to a year before they start. In order to cultivate a competitive resume, many future consultants start planning ahead the moment they set foot on campus. This information gap stifles social mobility and helps perpetuate inequality.
I write with an exhortation for those bright and motivated high school students who want to run the world: be ambitious!
With the information gap in mind, some brief advice:
Decide on a field, and research it. Learn the names of top firms, what their deadlines are, and what colleges and majors they recruit from.
Score well on the ACT/SAT. This is important for getting into college, but it will open doors later on as well. A number of firms ask for high school standardized test scores as part of their hiring process.
Attend a target school. Top firms are often highly biased towards traditionally elite institutions, sometimes going so far as to reserve hiring slots for students from a particular university. This school does not have to be an Ivy; in tech, for instance, Carnegie Mellon and UC Berkeley have an excellent track record.
Cultivate a resume. By junior year you will be competing for highly selective internships. Your GPA matters a lot, and your extracurriculars do as well. Join a club associated with your career of choice. Get relevant work experience. Remember to enjoy college.
Get an internship. In the summer after your sophomore year, start applying to the junior-year internships at top firms in your field. In finance, these can close as early as August for internships starting in May of the following year. Apply to as many internships as you can! Response rates can be as low as one interview for every 50 applications. As you’re applying, prepare, prepare, and prepare. Most interviews involve some kind of performance assessment, be it a coding challenge or a case study.
Disclaimer: These careers aren’t for everyone, and do require some real talent. Not everyone will be self-actualized by working a highly intense, high-paying job. Jobs in tech, finance, and consulting are probably somewhat less ethical on average than other industries, and the individual applicant will have to evaluate each position and decide what they are comfortable with.
There are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not to pursue one of these careers. I can’t say what will be best for each individual, but I think every high schooler should at least ask themselves the question. These jobs are out there, and they are not unobtainable. Don’t be afraid to be ambitious.
Netflix doesn’t actually hire college students. The reason for including an “N” in this acronym is left as an exercise for the reader.
Hey, I'm a current senior at Yale (S&DS major). Looks like we have a lot of shared interests- I'd love to get in touch. Not sure if you're comfortable revealing your identity or not, but let me know if you want to talk!