There’s a book called “Excellent Sheep” that explores this idea as well. It’s been a while since I read it but roughly the premise was that all these “prestigious” organisations (they focused more on McKinsey et al) are another, maybe final, stage on a long ladder of structured excellence. AP/Extracurricular -> Ivy League College -> Consulting (or PE/IB) -> MBA -> ?
The path is well defined and optimises for essentially racehorses. The path is defined at each step, you bring the sweat and hours. Hope to make it through the filter to the next level.
The book ends with the question of what to do after the last rung of the ladder? How do deal with the existential crisis? To be on the ladder is to adopt an external value system. How to find yourself now? Liberate yourself from the golden handcuffs?
The professor who wrote that book, interestingly, ended up being denied tenure and was subsequently unable to get another academic job despite years of trying. Here's a recent podcast with him: https://www.persuasion.community/p/deresiewicz
It may not be the best thing in the world to be an "excellent sheep," but perhaps it's better than being a lone ram.
The path is well defined and optimises for essentially racehorses. The path is defined at each step, you bring the sweat and hours. Hope to make it through the filter to the next level.
The book ends with the question of what to do after the last rung of the ladder? How do deal with the existential crisis? To be on the ladder is to adopt an external value system. How to find yourself now? Liberate yourself from the golden handcuffs?
Interesting read