Do rich kids work in non profits?
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Anonymous
| I went to an affluent high school in the DC area (but was one of the poors) and notice tons of former classmates work in non profits. Are non profits a thing for rich kids with trust funds? A lot of them left the DC area to study in Europe or elsewhere and came back to work here in some non profit NGO type place. |
Anonymous
| To some degree having wealth enables people to pursue passion projects that otherwise don’t pay well. I worked at a nonprofit when I first moved to DC. I made less than $30k (albeit over 20 years ago) and just managed to scrape by but I needed to get my parents to co-sign my lease. I’m not the level of wealthy you’re describing, but I definitely had a safety net. |
Anonymous
| It’s that there are some very interesting non-profit jobs and someone with no student loans and means to buy a house, take vacation, etc. without a high paying job has more freedom to choose an interesting job over a high paying one. |
Anonymous
| Yes, this is a well-known correlation. People with bills typically can't afford those jobs. |
Anonymous
Very few kids in general go to study in Europe (or even outside the US). Less than 5% of top DMV private kids go international…and that’s today when it’s become more common. |
Anonymous
| Yes, this has been a thing forever. The jobs are low paying but it doesn't matter if you have a trust fund. It's sometimes a weird nux of very wealthy and people from poor communities who want to give back who find it startling to see their colleagues jetting off for the weekend at their Nantucket house or whatever. |
Anonymous
| I work for a nonprofit (not international). Staff are a mix of people who don't have families and those with another source of money (spouse, etc.). Ours work is important but underfunded. I'm glad that people who can afford to take a salary hit choose to work with us and similar organizations. What would you prefer they do? |
Anonymous
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Yes. My peer group in HS/college all did at least one study abroad, if not multiple, and then usually lived abroad for some period of time. I was also in this group. Now many are in nonprofits or international development. I did my time in them before moving to law.
It’s the same in law though. There are a lot of fabulous public interest law groups and nonprofits and the axiom is that all of those people have to have a partner in big law or another lucrative career for it to work. |
Anonymous
| Truly wealthy run their own non-profits financed with family money. |
Anonymous
| No - I've worked at 4 non-profits over my career, and not rich (not even by normal standards, let alone DCUM standards). I just don't need to keep up with the Jonses. I drive cars into the ground, have a cell phone until it dies, rather than always buying new, probably have fewer clothes and shoes than most women, and, I have enough and am happy (spouse also has a lower income job, but our kids have everything they need and some of what they want) |
Anonymous
Wealthy kids are the "director of giving" for their family office. In another life, this is my dream job. |
Anonymous
| Yes, but having taken the path you describe myself because I could, I personally wish I had gotten some private sector experience as well. Don't regret living abroad during college after I graduated tho - that was awesome! |
Anonymous
| I’ve worked at 2 different nonprofits and it’s not my experience at all. |
Anonymous
+1. This. Many nonprofits don’t pay well but the work is interesting and rewarding. Why wouldn’t rich kids choose that if money is no object. Similarly you see more rich people working at museums, in publishing, and in entertainment. Entry level pay is low and often involves unpaid internships which many kids with student loans can’t stomach |
Anonymous
Sure to assuage guilt, or to "look good" on their "resumes" as a junior philanthropist. |