<p>"Given the efforts at some of the top schools to guide their students away from Wall Street and into public service, Ive been wondering whether the career choices of the nations young elites have changed much in the last few years."</p>
<p>Doubt it has much to do with their efforts, and everything to do with availability of jobs in the finance sector.</p>
<p>It’s hard to judge the efforts made by a school to redirect the career choices of its graduates. After all, the students and their parents are the ones who made the choices, all the way back to the application days. </p>
<p>If College Confidential offers any indication, it seems that there is STILL an overwhelming attraction to careers that are meant to bring endless prestige and beaucoup bucks. The attraction to these elements have not abated, especially among certain groups of applicants that are wired, pushed, squeezed, or cajoled in that direction since birth. </p>
<p>It is still all there: the IB program for an IB career with college as the necessary and trivial rite of passage. And with all the despair and disappointment that comes with the hollow choices made by aspiring social climbers and braggers.</p>
<p>DB (Pton, 40 years of banking) who’s cleaning out his office, says that there are 3500 people in the IB division who are losing their jobs and looking to move into the boring traditional banking. Problem is that the traditional Bankers are relationship and conservative-IB’s are numbers driven. </p>
<p>Many CEO’s are from the IB sector and will look towards their past IB people to fill traditional Bank roles.</p>
<p>I think right now it’s a cautionary tale and kids would do well not to ‘count’ on things being the same over the next decade. If kids want to go into IB then they should, but to go into IB because of last decade and expectations that nothing will change is probably not a good idea. There are entire industries that have died or completely changed in the last few decades. Industries are ever involving and kids should do something they like because they will be doing it for a very long time or they will be starting over in the peak of their careers which is no fun at all.</p>
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<p>I think people are just more wary of taking a job in finance. It’s not like they’re that hard to get once you get accepted to HYP.</p>
<p>And for HYP kids with loans to repay, 3-4 years at a finance job can do a lot to help them pay them off. D has at least one friend who is ready to move out of Wall Street finance as soon as those student loans are repaid.</p>