<p>just<em>forget</em>me, I wouldn’t say they’re the most desirable exactly, just the most readily available. (At least they used to be.) E-recruiting streamlined the process so much that banking and consulting jobs were practically dropped in people’s laps, and with all the money they offered they were definitely attractive. Plenty of people definitely had hopes of making it to Wall Street, though. But for many, the agenda was never to stay there. A lot of people wanted to get the high-paying job, pay off their loans quickly, then have the rest of their lives free to do something else. Others wanted to take the two-year commitment, use it as a springboard into business school, and THEN go do something else. And then there are those who were genuinely interested. I knew people who fall into all those categories. </p>
<p>But I definitely never felt that anyone felt the banking/consulting jobs were the MOST desirable, and that you were looked down upon or anything if you didn’t get one. On the contrary, I found a lot of peers and professors expressed admiration when I told them I was going in a different direction entirely (journalism). I also know as many non-bankers as I know bankers, so people definitely don’t all head for Wall Street like lemmings.</p>