Then and Now: More Harvard Grads Go For Banking
By BankersBall on Jan 18, 2008 in Cube Life, Ivy League
Some stats on what we all knew to be true: more elite college grads are choosing high-paying careers these days.
Two Harvard economists who studied the career choices of Harvard grads from 1969 to 1992 have come to a conclusion that more Harvard grads are opting for finance, reports the WSJ.
Whereas about 5% of men who graduated in 1970 were working in finance 15 years later, that number was more like 15% in 1990. The situation for women is similar, though on a smaller scale: 2.3% in 1970 to 3.4% in 1990. But it appears that trend has accelerated in the years since then. A Harvard newspaper poll put the number of grads going to investment banks as 1/5th for men and 1/10th for women.
How many of those will stay for 15 years is another matter, but those numbers are surprisingly high. And why? Turns out that those who choose finance earn 195% more than Harvard grads who choose other jobs.
On Jan 18, 2008, Inquisitor said:
It all comes down to the dollars. When you’ve spent that much money on a degree, it’s hard to justify doing something that isn’t highly lucrative.
Plus, I think a lot of people really just don’t know what to do so they figure, “why not make a lot of money?” I’ve seen that one a lot before.
On Jan 18, 2008, Corporate Finance guy said:
So they stated the obvious? I think more are going into finance because they see their art history major classmates working for free at some no name art shop in the Village.
On Jan 19, 2008, OffThat said:
I love it… More intelligent people in finance means more efficient mkts and more smart monkeys working in i-banking closing deals that I can make a fortune on.. Good stuff indeed.
On Jan 20, 2008, SmakDat said:
OffThat: Agreed.
On Jan 22, 2008, Fthat said:
yeah, thats great. So the best and the brightest in America ignore the medical, research, engineering, manufacturing,agricultural, government, and anything else that actaully makes a country a great place to live….anyone remember why America ever became the Superpower that is( soon to be was…)….agriculture, land…we just lucked out…..this country is f*cked
On Jan 24, 2008, re fthat said:
Maybe if colleges didn’t charge so much, then people wouldn’t be forced to opt for the lucrative world of finance. Let’s say you graduate with $60,000 of debt for your undergrad engineering or medical education. And you’re staring at a job that pays u half of that in the 1st year (engineering) or looking at taking on more debt for med school. Does that sound promising compared to $100,000 first yr out of school? This isn’t rocket science. Maybe if US colleges and the govt incentivized people to follow their hearts by limiting their debt burden instead of increasing the interest rate on federal student loans from 2.6% to 6.8% and raising tuition above the rate of inflation each yr, then u’d have a story.
On Jan 25, 2008, re re fthat said:
I wish it were that easy…incentives wouldnt work…its image. Image is everything in America. Hollywood, MTV, Banking, Hedge funds, the big bucks baby, the hot women, the fast cars, Miami, NYC, LA…..its all bullshit…..I repeat….this country is f*cked
On Jan 26, 2008, anon said:
power, prestige, and image all flow from money. you think people would give two $hits about hedge funds, hollywood and hot women if none produced, nor were attracted by, money?