Why don’t college students understand that they’re supposed to preserve optionality?

[Anonymous]

I’m an alumni mentor for an Ivy, and one thing I see that frequently confuses me is that students are not focused on using their four years of college (and also their early 20s post-grad!) to PRESERVE OPTIONS. That’s the name of the game in your college years and your twenties.

I always advise students to major in STEM, since it’s way easier for a STEM graduate to go into classically liberal arts fields (law, media, politics, etc) than the other way around. I highly recommend that most college students at elite schools work in management consulting or investment banking post-grad, as those are the two fields that PRESERVE THE MOST OPTIONS for someone in their late 20s or 30s. A former management consultant (especially with Ivy pedigree) or Morgan Stanley investment banker can always decide to pivot at 28 to politics, media, the arts, the business side of tech, non-profit work, etc. — but it’s much harder to do the reverse.

But it seems like many students are averse to the idea of keeping their options open. Even at elite colleges, and especially so at state flagships — I see way too many bright kids in my wealthy MoCo neighborhood major in useless crap like marketing or psychology at elite colleges or at excellent flagships like UMD.

Do these kids not get it? Why don’t they understand the importance of optionality?

[Anonymous]

TLDR but Why did you use the the fake word optionality when options would have worked?

[Anonymous]

Because they’re 18-22, they want to do what they want to do and they think they’re right? FWIW I agree with you re IB or consulting (or big law if you go straight to law school) but again I’m not 22.

[Anonymous]

I would rather pluck my eyelashes out one by one than work in investment banking or management consulting.

[Anonymous]

Are you really asking why someone who wants to be a psychologist isn’t spending their post grad years at Morgan Stanley?

[Anonymous]

Your way of preserving options is to go into one of two career fields? Please. It’s a big world out there. IB and Mgmt consulting are soul killing (I have personal experience).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an alumni mentor for an Ivy, and one thing I see that frequently confuses me is that students are not focused on using their four years of college (and also their early 20s post-grad!) to PRESERVE OPTIONS. That’s the name of the game in your college years and your twenties.

I always advise students to major in STEM, since it’s way easier for a STEM graduate to go into classically liberal arts fields (law, media, politics, etc) than the other way around. I highly recommend that most college students at elite schools work in management consulting or investment banking post-grad, as those are the two fields that PRESERVE THE MOST OPTIONS for someone in their late 20s or 30s. A former management consultant (especially with Ivy pedigree) or Morgan Stanley investment banker can always decide to pivot at 28 to politics, media, the arts, the business side of tech, non-profit work, etc. — but it’s much harder to do the reverse.

But it seems like many students are averse to the idea of keeping their options open. Even at elite colleges, and especially so at state flagships — I see way too many bright kids in my wealthy MoCo neighborhood major in useless crap like marketing or psychology at elite colleges or at excellent flagships like UMD.

Do these kids not get it? Why don’t they understand the importance of optionality?

Who are you to tell others what they’re “supposed” to do?

And if you’re in a truly wealthy neighborhood in MoCo (only parts of Potomac fit that description), people there are secure enough to not GAF what they or their children major in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an alumni mentor for an Ivy, and one thing I see that frequently confuses me is that students are not focused on using their four years of college (and also their early 20s post-grad!) to PRESERVE OPTIONS. That’s the name of the game in your college years and your twenties.

I always advise students to major in STEM, since it’s way easier for a STEM graduate to go into classically liberal arts fields (law, media, politics, etc) than the other way around. I highly recommend that most college students at elite schools work in management consulting or investment banking post-grad, as those are the two fields that PRESERVE THE MOST OPTIONS for someone in their late 20s or 30s. A former management consultant (especially with Ivy pedigree) or Morgan Stanley investment banker can always decide to pivot at 28 to politics, media, the arts, the business side of tech, non-profit work, etc. — but it’s much harder to do the reverse.

But it seems like many students are averse to the idea of keeping their options open. Even at elite colleges, and especially so at state flagships — I see way too many bright kids in my wealthy MoCo neighborhood major in useless crap like marketing or psychology at elite colleges or at excellent flagships like UMD.

Do these kids not get it? Why don’t they understand the importance of optionality?

Lol what? What do you mean by “media”—like, news? Because I certainly don’t know of more than a handful successful actors, musicians, directors or producers who majored in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an alumni mentor for an Ivy, and one thing I see that frequently confuses me is that students are not focused on using their four years of college (and also their early 20s post-grad!) to PRESERVE OPTIONS. That’s the name of the game in your college years and your twenties.

I always advise students to major in STEM, since it’s way easier for a STEM graduate to go into classically liberal arts fields (law, media, politics, etc) than the other way around. I highly recommend that most college students at elite schools work in management consulting or investment banking post-grad, as those are the two fields that PRESERVE THE MOST OPTIONS for someone in their late 20s or 30s. A former management consultant (especially with Ivy pedigree) or Morgan Stanley investment banker can always decide to pivot at 28 to politics, media, the arts, the business side of tech, non-profit work, etc. — but it’s much harder to do the reverse.

But it seems like many students are averse to the idea of keeping their options open. Even at elite colleges, and especially so at state flagships — I see way too many bright kids in my wealthy MoCo neighborhood major in useless crap like marketing or psychology at elite colleges or at excellent flagships like UMD.

Do these kids not get it? Why don’t they understand the importance of optionality?

To YOU. Not in my culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an alumni mentor for an Ivy, and one thing I see that frequently confuses me is that students are not focused on using their four years of college (and also their early 20s post-grad!) to PRESERVE OPTIONS. That’s the name of the game in your college years and your twenties.

I always advise students to major in STEM, since it’s way easier for a STEM graduate to go into classically liberal arts fields (law, media, politics, etc) than the other way around. I highly recommend that most college students at elite schools work in management consulting or investment banking post-grad, as those are the two fields that PRESERVE THE MOST OPTIONS for someone in their late 20s or 30s. A former management consultant (especially with Ivy pedigree) or Morgan Stanley investment banker can always decide to pivot at 28 to politics, media, the arts, the business side of tech, non-profit work, etc. — but it’s much harder to do the reverse.

But it seems like many students are averse to the idea of keeping their options open. Even at elite colleges, and especially so at state flagships — I see way too many bright kids in my wealthy MoCo neighborhood major in useless crap like marketing or psychology at elite colleges or at excellent flagships like UMD.

Do these kids not get it? Why don’t they understand the importance of optionality?

OMG

[Anonymous]

I'm a research biologist. You don't understand that most people cannot, and will not, pick a field of study they are not interested in. If they're not interested, they won't do well in it. It would be a giant waste of time and resources.

It's amazingly cretinous to propose that
one should just study this, or study that, then go into investment banking... as if we're all robots looking to maximize a paycheck. We're not. We have our predilections. We can't all study the same thing. This is the beauty of individualism. There are many ways to lead a successful life.

My husband is a doctor and my kid wants to major in international affairs. He has always been interested in history and military strategy. It's his thing. Who are we to tell him to do something else? Would he do well in a STEM career? No, he'd be miserable. We did tell him to add data science to his studies and make it a Bachelor of Science, because his degree will be more marketable. (He'll go to grad school or law school anyway.) But no hard science beyond that. That's just not who he is.

So don't be stupid, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rather pluck my eyelashes out one by one than work in investment banking or management consulting.

Are you a 22 year-old? That’s the only way I can justify such an immature response. Most adults in the working world would kill for an opportunity to work at Mckinsey or Goldman for their early twenties.

[Anonymous]

The point of being wealthy is to give your kid more options in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would rather pluck my eyelashes out one by one than work in investment banking or management consulting.

Are you a 22 year-old? That’s the only way I can justify such an immature response. Most adults in the working world would kill for an opportunity to work at Mckinsey or Goldman for their early twenties.

More room for them, then. Enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you really asking why someone who wants to be a psychologist isn’t spending their post grad years at Morgan Stanley?

How does a 22 year-old even really know that they want to be a “psychologist?” They are too young and inexperienced to choose a long-standing career path! They might go straight to grad school to be a psychologist at 22 and end up regretting the decision at 30. Better to spend two years in the working world to get a better sense of what one is or isn’t good at, get great resume experience, and start saving up money for a downpayment and retirement.