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Realized I can't buy a house with prestige
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I cashed in my prestige bucks for one month of Apple Music.
Prestige should often be read as optionality. That matters less as you build expertise and hone in on your later stage career.
For a junior generalist I’m a strong believer in “chasing prestige,” if I were giving my son advice.
Not sure I agree with this advice. Yes, honing in on a specific piece of expertise is theoretically correct circa 2022. In 2025 and beyond adaptation and quickly becoming skilled is incredibly vital to becoming successful in the future. The “Generalist” who has wide knowledge and can understand the different functions will be so important to success. I cannot stress it enough. @McK1 - McKinsey has seen a large drop off in talent lately.
As you achieve ranks, you quickly realize the “room where it happens”, isn’t a place you get to by having actual knowledge, its experience navigating the political landscape of that organization. Next 10-15 years will ultimately kill that. So that’s a nice to know.
Every decade the desire drops. Prestige to me now is knowing in a few years no one controls my time but me.
100%
I worked at Microsoft before IBM in notable roles and have realized that there is no such thing as prestige. Sure, having a certain experience on one's resume helps land the next role, but nobody, and I mean nobody, thinks I am a better human for it.
As Simon Sinek illustrated on a podcast at one point, the esteem and respect given is held for the company and position, not for the person.
Prestige doesn’t pay for food nor does it keep you happy
I think it matters when you’re earlyish in your career for certain jobs that use other jobs as screening. Like going PE to Hedge Fund. But if you’re not on a path like that or are in the middle of your career it doesn’t matter that much.
As a generalist, a prestigious consulting firms help you exit to the same level faster than you would from a less prestigious firm or many more years of industry experience. If you have prestige firm experience, going to a T2 or boutique firm will get you a springboard to higher rank and pay at the “lower prestige” firm. Ultimately it’s all about the money to me and prestige quickly wears thin as many have noted.
I think for certain roles it can matter, and in some ways if your goal is just to make a ton of money no matter what then yeah prestige will be super helpful. It matters to eve invited at those seats where leadership decisions are made / if you want to be a leader.
But if your focus is elsewhere like for prob 70-90% of the general working population - you can’t build a family or learn how to live within your means from prestige.
You can also change your mind on what matters to you based on your situation at the time. When I started out “prestige” somewhat mattered and affected how much I was putting in effort into my job; a few years ago I cared more about my life outside of work so that’s where spent my time til now; nowadays, idk what I’m looking for yet (maybe a balance?), and it might all change again in a few years. I might never become a director / VP of a company in my lifetime and that’s probably okay as long as I have other things outside of work I’d rather focus on.