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Overview

If you want to be successful in a start-up, it’s good to get involved early on so that you can change the company’s direction with your ideas.

The US economy is driven by the entrepreneurial spirit of start-ups and innovation. It’s no surprise that young people from elite universities might not want to pursue careers in corporate America, which would be more likely to benefit the national economy.

Some university graduates tend to take jobs in the professional services industry. This is because entrepreneurship teaches valuable lessons, and it’s something anyone can do. Entrepreneurship also helped one company succeed wildly, and attending an Economist conference for free is a great opportunity to attend one of their events.

Big Idea #1: Most top students end up in the same industries. They go into law and finance, among other things.

At some point in their studies, most students must decide what they want to do for a living. They ask themselves questions like: Where should I start? And what kind of job should I have? At elite universities, such as those in the Ivy League, students usually look for jobs at prestigious professional service companies. In fact, many Princeton graduates go into finance and consulting while Harvard grads often choose law school. The reason is that these professions offer high pay and are challenging.

Furthermore, students from elite universities are well-suited for the formal application processes required to get into these firms. It’s similar to the application process at most of those schools: in almost all cases, students must pass challenging and selective applications in order to be accepted.

Young people often feel insecure about their future and look to others for guidance. They end up choosing the same career paths as each other, year after year.

Some students feel that they’re constantly being interviewed for banking positions. This can have a negative effect on them as time goes by.

Big Idea #2: How firms can attract students.

Not only do students influence each other, but so do major professional service firms.

For starters, professional service companies compete for the best students. They invest heavily in recruitment and there’s an arms race to get them because of their talent. Many universities are competing for these talented individuals, so they’re investing more money into recruiting them.

For example, Goldman Sachs has a room in Columbia University’s career services office. They spend $50,000 per recruit. There are many other professional service companies who do the same thing; it amounts to tens of millions of dollars per year for these companies alone.

Because there are limited slots for students in schools, and because the number of students is finite, firms have to compete aggressively to attract talent.

Moreover, the opportunities at prestigious firms make them more attractive to students. They advertise this by saying that if you work for a while as a management consultant, you will develop the key skills necessary to later find work as a lobbyist or an investment banker.

But how do you develop these skills? The companies that hire the most prestigious people claim that they teach them to deliver high-quality work, which can be applied to many other roles. For example, every model, report or presentation has to be highly sophisticated and free of errors.

When students feel insecure about their career path, they often choose to join professional service companies. These companies help train people in essential skills that can be useful later on.