<p>^
No, the one thing that IS ruder than asking is bragging.</p>
<p>Seriously, Morrissmm, YOU didn’t go to Cornell and YOU aren’t making six-figures as an investment banker-- your “D’” is. (Why even type this? Is it really that much more effort to type “daughter” instead?) I did a google search of “Cornell investment banking” on this site one day, and literally every thread was littered with some reiteration of your gloating.</p>
<p>Beyond a certain point, after the bills are paid, money ceases to “make one happy.” I will never measure the worth of my DD’s based on their salaries or their school. I am proud of them for them.</p>
<p>I watched my dear sister get caught up in the rat race. She made a LOT of money, made it to the top of her field and had it ALL - beautiful home and family to boot. By all outward appearances she was very happy and the family was so very proud. The truth is, she wasn’t happy. It all became too much for her to handle… I miss her each and every day.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This. There is this thing called “law of diminishing marginal utility”, and your level of salary is no exempt from this law.</p>
<p>I will be making six figure salary after I graduate from law school. I already have law firm offer lined up.</p>
<p>At the same time, I have nothing but respect for some of my classmates, who, by their own will, pursue lower paying jobs than those corporate large law firm gigs, because they find that the quality of the work they find at government agencies, public organizations, clerkships, or district attorney’s office is greater and better fits their career ambitions or interests, rather than the work you’d do as an associate at a large law firm.</p>
<p>In fact, there was this very famous guy who, despite graduating Law Review and Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School, turned down a six figure law firm job (from the top law firm Sidley Austin) and instead chose to pursue a much lower paying job, in the public sector. He did this because of his firm belief that his talent and personal utility would be better served by going that route, more interested in making a direct impact on the community and society in which he lives in, rather than putting up with those mindless document review type of work at large law firms that only benefit law firm partners and large corporations, even if that corporate law firm would have paid him a salary that is three times greater than the career he chose in the end. </p>
<p>His name was Barack Obama.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I believe the current consensus in psychology is that a salary of $70k is where more money stops having a significantly positive impact on overall happiness. This varies by person/location/family situation, but it’s a benchmark. If you can earn that right after graduating, more power to you. For many fields, starting salary is relatively low, but there are greater opportunities for advancement within 5-10 years, which is what will really matter.</p>
<p>^^
Well, this thread really provides some insight, I guess…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1297622-college-grad-still-living-parents-home.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1297622-college-grad-still-living-parents-home.html</a></p>
<p>Oh dear, Saugus, you really do your homework and manage to find these interesting threads!</p>
<p>I believe, perspective is based on conclusions drawn from one’s own life experiences, so maybe there really isn’t a “one size fits all” regarding the schools at Cornell, or jobs, careers, etc., and that’s okay, because it takes all types of personalities to keep things rolling. The important thing is that we are true to ourselves and decide for ourselves what we want to achieve out of life and this may look vastly different than how others define things. </p>
<p>For what it is worth, I have learned a lot by some of the insightful comments posted by NYU Lawyer and mikeyc765. They always take the time to post honest reflections about their experiences and I appreciate it. </p>
<p>On a different note, I hope everyone has a chance to go and see Lincoln. What a great movie.</p>
<p>"My sister doesn’t feel like the consensus on campus is that AEM kids are inferior to Economics or Engineering students. She says the on-campus recruiting is actually better than what Economics or definitely ILR majors enjoy. She says the grading is also easier than any other college at Cornell so that’s an added bonus.</p>
<p>I bet she will end up making more money than Cornellians enrolled in the so-called “real colleges” like CAS and Engineering. It doesn’t reflect well on fellow students to put others down."</p>
<p>AEM is generally viewed as one of the most prestigious programs anyway…</p>
<p>My son was admitted to CALS (class of 2014) for environmental engineering. He purposely did not apply to the college of engineering because he called an advisor, and she said his SAT scores were “a little low for engineering, but you should try Env. Eng. in CALS.” Anyway, he knew it was a reach, but applied and was accepted. He worked extremely hard in high school and did very well, but just not that well on his SAT’s. Anyway, one of his teachers said, “I cannot believe you are going to the State school and not the real Cornell.” He was pretty upset and tried explaining the difference to her. She did not even realize that all 7 schools are on the same campus and take classes with kids from different schools. Then he continued to work his butt off, and applied to the school of engineering his sophomore year and got accepted. He is finishing the fall semester of his junior year, still doing well, above the median for all his classes. He has wanted to visit his teacher to tell her he is now in “the real Cornell” haha, but he said it is not worth it. He is extremely happy at Cornell, and he is more mature than I am because he said it truly does not matter what other people think. He has met people way smarter than him, and many that are not. He feels (even though he was at the bottom of the range of SAT scores for engineering) that he is at the middle to top of his class. So, my point is that it does not really matter what other people think or what their “perception” is. It matters what each individual student thinks, and as long as they work hard and are happy, who cares!</p>
<p>Who is anyone to judge? People go to different schools for different reasons. I thought one of the benefits of going to Cornell was because it didn’t have the pretentious snobbery that Princeton/Harvard/Yale/MIT had. I hope I’m not wrong…</p>