Squandered elite education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

What are you talking about!? What book or magazine published senior salaries of Investment Banking? I have never even heard of investment banking — it’s not like anyplace in my rural hometown sold The NY Times or anything.

Seriously, what book or magazine published salaries like that? Even today I can’t think of anything…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember buying Vault guides at the bookstore. That was where I learned about ibanking and consulting salaries and bonuses.

Again, that is clearly for the the money hungry Gordon Gecko types — the knowledge that you needed to follow that path for a comfortable life wasn’t widely known.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I remember buying Vault guides at the bookstore. That was where I learned about ibanking and consulting salaries and bonuses.

Again, that is clearly for the the money hungry Gordon Gecko types — the knowledge that you needed to follow that path for a comfortable life wasn’t widely known.

Even with the internet, you have to use your fingers and type in salaries and info. And the vault guides online are a big source of info for careers. You have to seek this out, it doesn’t fall onto your lap, Internet or not Internet. OP and the whiners seem to expect somehow this information would have been diffused or just given to them. It doesn’t work like that for most people except for the most connected. Hungry people make it in every era. Excuse after excuse why every resource would not have worked or career paths like medicine or law make it obvious why a lucrative career did not emerge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

What are you talking about!? What book or magazine published senior salaries of Investment Banking? I have never even heard of investment banking — it’s not like anyplace in my rural hometown sold The NY Times or anything.

Seriously, what book or magazine published salaries like that? Even today I can’t think of anything…

This. DH and I have discussed this thread. He grew up super poor (like, food stamps and stuff). I didn't - but the only lawyer I knew was the "local town lawyer" - did estates and real estate and business contracts. He just retired last year and I bet he was making $150k at the end. I had never heard of an "investment banker" until my 20s. Other than in Wall Street. Which was as much a career fantasy land to me as Top Gun or Jurassic Park. I didn't know people actually had those jobs in real life. No one I knew at school was talking about it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

What are you talking about!? What book or magazine published senior salaries of Investment Banking? I have never even heard of investment banking — it’s not like anyplace in my rural hometown sold The NY Times or anything.

Seriously, what book or magazine published salaries like that? Even today I can’t think of anything…

This. DH and I have discussed this thread. He grew up super poor (like, food stamps and stuff). I didn't - but the only lawyer I knew was the "local town lawyer" - did estates and real estate and business contracts. He just retired last year and I bet he was making $150k at the end. I had never heard of an "investment banker" until my 20s. Other than in Wall Street. Which was as much a career fantasy land to me as Top Gun or Jurassic Park. I didn't know people actually had those jobs in real life. No one I knew at school was talking about it either.

Did you go to an Ivy? We are talking about opportunities going to an Ivy afforded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

I am one of the people you're suggesting was a moron for not figuring this stuff out in college in the 1990s, despite having no exposure to it and not knowing what I didn't know.

Three years later, in the early aughts, I went to law school. Thanks to the internet, and people on campus actually talking about career prospects, I now make seven figures. I am definitely someone who knows how to make the system work and doesn't need to be handheld.

Your constant arguing with the many, many people on this thread who are telling you: we grew up poor and/or not exposed to any of these ideas, and when we went to school in the 90s there was no internet or outward discussion of job prospects/salaries other than "choose your passion!" -- and the fact that you clearly did NOT grow up poor and clearly DID get exposed to these ideas before getting to college (or you went to college later than us).... does none of this register to you that your experience is not an apples to apples comparison to ours?

Also, again, the OP's whole point was: Now they know there were these services and opportunities and wishes they took advantage of them and feel like a fool for missing out. But genuinely had no idea the services or opportunities exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

I am one of the people you're suggesting was a moron for not figuring this stuff out in college in the 1990s, despite having no exposure to it and not knowing what I didn't know.

Three years later, in the early aughts, I went to law school. Thanks to the internet, and people on campus actually talking about career prospects, I now make seven figures. I am definitely someone who knows how to make the system work and doesn't need to be handheld.

Your constant arguing with the many, many people on this thread who are telling you: we grew up poor and/or not exposed to any of these ideas, and when we went to school in the 90s there was no internet or outward discussion of job prospects/salaries other than "choose your passion!" -- and the fact that you clearly did NOT grow up poor and clearly DID get exposed to these ideas before getting to college (or you went to college later than us).... does none of this register to you that your experience is not an apples to apples comparison to ours?

Also, again, the OP's whole point was: Now they know there were these services and opportunities and wishes they took advantage of them and feel like a fool for missing out. But genuinely had no idea the services or opportunities exist.

It’s not just one person who disagrees with you, it’s multiple. And people talked about careers in law school because it was a professional school. Did you go to an Ivy prior? Because the vibe would have been the same at an Ivy college as in law school, and if a student didn’t take advantage of it that’s his own loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember buying Vault guides at the bookstore. That was where I learned about ibanking and consulting salaries and bonuses.

Great! Do you remember how you found out about Vault guides? Did someone casually mention them? Did you see one on someone’s desk? Did you just wander around the bookstore and have an aha! moment?
Since this is the first time I’ve heard of them, I’ll check to see if they were published when I went to school.

I’ll add, too, that the career center when I went to school wasn’t really set up to support 1st Gen students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

I am one of the people you're suggesting was a moron for not figuring this stuff out in college in the 1990s, despite having no exposure to it and not knowing what I didn't know.

Three years later, in the early aughts, I went to law school. Thanks to the internet, and people on campus actually talking about career prospects, I now make seven figures. I am definitely someone who knows how to make the system work and doesn't need to be handheld.

Your constant arguing with the many, many people on this thread who are telling you: we grew up poor and/or not exposed to any of these ideas, and when we went to school in the 90s there was no internet or outward discussion of job prospects/salaries other than "choose your passion!" -- and the fact that you clearly did NOT grow up poor and clearly DID get exposed to these ideas before getting to college (or you went to college later than us).... does none of this register to you that your experience is not an apples to apples comparison to ours?

Also, again, the OP's whole point was: Now they know there were these services and opportunities and wishes they took advantage of them and feel like a fool for missing out. But genuinely had no idea the services or opportunities exist.

It’s not just one person who disagrees with you, it’s multiple. And people talked about careers in law school because it was a professional school. Did you go to an Ivy prior? Because the vibe would have been the same at an Ivy college as in law school, and if a student didn’t take advantage of it that’s his own loss.

DP And it’s not one person, it’s multiple, pointing out that for a variety of reasons, our experiences were substantially different from yours.
Maybe reread the original post. Many of us are more than aware of “our loss”. That’s the whole point. We didn’t take advantage of opportunities and resources— because we didn’t know that they were there. Peace out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

I am one of the people you're suggesting was a moron for not figuring this stuff out in college in the 1990s, despite having no exposure to it and not knowing what I didn't know.

Three years later, in the early aughts, I went to law school. Thanks to the internet, and people on campus actually talking about career prospects, I now make seven figures. I am definitely someone who knows how to make the system work and doesn't need to be handheld.

Your constant arguing with the many, many people on this thread who are telling you: we grew up poor and/or not exposed to any of these ideas, and when we went to school in the 90s there was no internet or outward discussion of job prospects/salaries other than "choose your passion!" -- and the fact that you clearly did NOT grow up poor and clearly DID get exposed to these ideas before getting to college (or you went to college later than us).... does none of this register to you that your experience is not an apples to apples comparison to ours?

Also, again, the OP's whole point was: Now they know there were these services and opportunities and wishes they took advantage of them and feel like a fool for missing out. But genuinely had no idea the services or opportunities exist.

It’s not just one person who disagrees with you, it’s multiple. And people talked about careers in law school because it was a professional school. Did you go to an Ivy prior? Because the vibe would have been the same at an Ivy college as in law school, and if a student didn’t take advantage of it that’s his own loss.

The question for you and the apparent "multiple" people taking your position... Did you graduate from an Ivy during the 90s? If you graduated in 2002, we are telling you that the experience even three years prior was dramatically different. If you did not graduate during the 90s, your experience is totally irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

Again, for the Nth time: You don’t know what you don’t know. When I went to college, the professionals I knew either worked in schools and universities, or were doctors. That’s pretty much it. So explain to me — pedantically— at what point the wealthy, almost exclusively white - people doing things like investment banking were going to tell me about such careers so I could seek out more information? FWIW, the doctors, lawyers, and accountants that I was dimly aware of were not wealthy.
What people like you don’t get is that you need to know that something exists to look for it, and that’s before you even get to understanding whether or not something is even possible for you. I’ve said this before, but if you grew up with the internet, if you grew up white and financially comfortable and surrounded by people doing the kinds of things that lead to and support wealth you may not be able to understand realities that don’t include those things.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am the immigrant poster who wrote upthread. I figured this stuff out, as a teen, within two years of landing in this country. Sure there were lots of things I did not know, all the cultural nuances and subtext of the UMC and upper classes, how to negotiate, how to build and leverage a network. You learn along the way if you pay attention. But where the money was? I learned that quickly and there were plenty resources. Maybe it was because I was an immigrant and could see right through the cultural propaganda you were fed in HS and College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

None of which ever discussed salaries, which is the point of OP. Career center was all about passion and interest and how to help the world. Recruitment might have alluded to starting salary and “growth” but never talked about hard numbers unless maybe at the final offer stage.

If you could not figure this out on your own, you did not and still don’t have the skills to navigate the big jobs with the big salaries. High paying jobs are extremely competitive, no one will tell you how to get them.

Figure out salaries on your own? Talking about salaries was very gauche in the 90s — so basically if you weren’t already in the inner circle of UMC professionals you were screwed either way?

Not to be pedantic but c’mon, you don’t need the actual salary to have a good sense of ballpark for IBanking, Medicine, Law, Accounting, Teaching etc etc. That info was easily available in books and newspaper and magazine articles if you cared to do the research.

OP’s issue is not that he did not negotiate well, he missed the ball completely by picking a non lucrative path. The people who need to be handheld like this cannot rise up the ranks to make the big bucks.

Again, for the Nth time: You don’t know what you don’t know. When I went to college, the professionals I knew either worked in schools and universities, or were doctors. That’s pretty much it. So explain to me — pedantically— at what point the wealthy, almost exclusively white - people doing things like investment banking were going to tell me about such careers so I could seek out more information? FWIW, the doctors, lawyers, and accountants that I was dimly aware of were not wealthy.
What people like you don’t get is that you need to know that something exists to look for it, and that’s before you even get to understanding whether or not something is even possible for you. I’ve said this before, but if you grew up with the internet, if you grew up white and financially comfortable and surrounded by people doing the kinds of things that lead to and support wealth you may not be able to understand realities that don’t include those things.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am the immigrant poster who wrote upthread. I figured this stuff out, as a teen, within two years of landing in this country. Sure there were lots of things I did not know, all the cultural nuances and subtext of the UMC and upper classes, how to negotiate, how to build and leverage a network. You learn along the way if you pay attention. But where the money was? I learned that quickly and there were plenty resources. Maybe it was because I was an immigrant and could see right through the cultural propaganda you were fed in HS and College.

Wow, it must been really hard being an immigrant in a rural area. I think being literally hungry is a thing: you were motivated to seek out making as much money as you could. LMC folks in rural areas were generally content enough to just want to do a professional job and have a comfortable life — we weren’t looking for beach houses and yachts — and completely unaware how expensive even a modest UMC life is. So we fell for that stupid “follow your passion” propaganda rather than being laser focused on money. The issue isn’t just how to seek high income careers, but the necessity in almost all urban areas (otherwise you have dual working couples with long commutes and crummy schools like in the OP).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

Older Ivy Grad here. We did have a career center. I used it. I read what color is my parachute. I knew campus recruiting was happening. But I had no appreciation for how marketable my undergraduate degree in history was. I had no idea I could participate in corporate recruiting. I thought all I could do was teach high school (more or less). Luckily I went to graduate school after a bit. It all worked out well. But for the basically second chance in graduate school (which happened later around 2000) I may have never figured out the degree itself opens doors, even in a liberal arts field.

(The experience of reading what color is your parachute when your parents are blue color and you have struggled to buy food was pretty funny looking back. One of the things you are supposed to think about is what would you like in a work environment. Well i wanted to get paid. I had no idea what my options were. I knew I didn’t want manual labor. Apart from that I had seen class rooms. I had worked in on campus jobs. I had no frame of reference to even understand the question asked much less answer it. I thought for a minute I might like publishing but crossed that off the list when I realized you couldn’t get into the field at a living wage. So I graduated. Tried some things. Ran into a lot of brick walks because I was dumb. Then ran into more. And i kind of figured it out after graduate school-but still feel like I am catching up.

Hahhahaha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

Why do all these 30 year olds keep posting? You had a rich repository of information about COL and career paths on the internet to guide you.

And it’s been pointed out for the older Ivy graduates you always had excellent career centers and recruiting opportunities.

Older Ivy Grad here. We did have a career center. I used it. I read what color is my parachute. I knew campus recruiting was happening. But I had no appreciation for how marketable my undergraduate degree in history was. I had no idea I could participate in corporate recruiting. I thought all I could do was teach high school (more or less). Luckily I went to graduate school after a bit. It all worked out well. But for the basically second chance in graduate school (which happened later around 2000) I may have never figured out the degree itself opens doors, even in a liberal arts field.

(The experience of reading what color is your parachute when your parents are blue color and you have struggled to buy food was pretty funny looking back. One of the things you are supposed to think about is what would you like in a work environment. Well i wanted to get paid. I had no idea what my options were. I knew I didn’t want manual labor. Apart from that I had seen class rooms. I had worked in on campus jobs. I had no frame of reference to even understand the question asked much less answer it. I thought for a minute I might like publishing but crossed that off the list when I realized you couldn’t get into the field at a living wage. So I graduated. Tried some things. Ran into a lot of brick walks because I was dumb. Then ran into more. And i kind of figured it out after graduate school-but still feel like I am catching up.

You are lying to yourself. No one who wants to be paid well chooses to major in History. Not in 1999, not in 1959 and not in 1899. It is ok for you to say that during that point in my life I valued other things and over time I have switched focus to making more money.

Sigh. That was point of OP. I didn’t “want to get paid well” like crazy corporate; I wanted a comfortable “DCUM middle class” lifestyle by working hard on interesting work. But did not understand how expensive that lifestyle worse, nor that $200k salaries were possible for anyone other than someone on the cover of Forbes.

Also, major doesn’t matter squat coming from an Ivy. I know engineers with political degrees and investment bankers with Russian lit.

This is blatantly not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't even attend Ivies (former UVA grad) and I am making 275K/yr working for the Federal government as a SME in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I am in my 30's and most of my former classmates are making a lot more in the private sector.

No one makes $275k / year in the federal government unless you are a contractor or a senior SES. If a contractor, you're a second class citizen to the fed workers and your salary can change at the next re-compete.

By the way, salaries for cybersecurity and IT folks in general plateau in your 30s and 40s, and job security is low into your 50s. The young kids coming up are always going to be pushing you out of your job.

You must be an ill-informed person. DHS was authorized to change the rule in 2021 to hire cybersecurity professionals with salaries up to 332K in order to compete with the private sector. Quite a few people that I know left the private sector to join DHS for 250K+ salaries. For many of them, they took a pay cut to join DHS because they believe in the mission at DHS.