Investing in the future

I remember coming across a rather startling statistic three years ago when I first arrived on campus. Contained in a pamphlet compiled by Career Services was a chart showing post-graduation data for the Class of 2000. It indicated that 34 percent of employed graduates were working in the financial services sector. For a freshman who didn't even know what he wanted to study, let alone what financial services really meant, I found this number rather disconcerting.

Though I now find this statistic easier to swallow, it continues to baffle me. In fact, since my freshman year, this trend has become even more prevalent. Of the employed graduates from the Class of 2004, 43 percent now work in financial services.

Forty-three percent. That means roughly one tenth of the entire graduating class is now working in finance. Is it really true that the one thing Princeton prepares us best for is to be the next generation of bankers?

One could argue that this phenomenon isn't particular to Princeton but one that is symptomatic of the kind of student that attends Princeton or perhaps even of our entire generation. Critics — David Brooks and his Organization Kid come to mind — have pointed out that the prosperous 90s have produced a generation of overachieving and self-serving super students who work endlessly to advance their careers, social status and material wealth. But I find it hard to believe that this phenomenon is due to our inherent nature as motivated students.

I also find it hard to believe that one out of every 10 incoming freshman arrive on campus with their hearts set on finance. In 2003, the University of Pennsylvania, a school that Princeton competes with for students, sent 18 percent of its employed graduates into the financial services sector. That year, 37 percent of the employed graduates from Princeton ended up in finance. Perhaps the more appropriate question should be: What is it about Princeton that convinces so many of us to take the yellow brick road?

One of the academic concerns that Dean of the College Nancy Weiss Malkiel brought up last spring was the need for a more even distribution of majors at Princeton. However, homogeneity is not only endemic of academic choices but of many other aspects of Princeton life, as well.

Just as the eating club system and its particularities are often identified with Princeton, so too is the investment banking and consulting culture. When faced with having to make the first major independent decision of their lives, many students will choose what is most visible, what those before them have chosen or what their peers are choosing. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this, all too often Princeton limits one's career considerations to just those few options that Princeton's culture has deemed to be symbols of success.

The school, for its part, is doing little to educate students of the many other options the world has to offer. Look for example at the upcoming career fair. Of the 80 registered companies and organizations participating in the fair, 20 were listed under financial services and 24 were under consulting. Walk around campus and you find Princeton's motto to serve all nations resonating feebly against the thunderous chorus of investment banks and consulting firms whose posters line every inch of our campus. Where are the interviews for public services? Where are the info sessions for pursuing one's passions?

I understand that these are coarse generalities. Selecting a postgraduate life is a very difficult and complicated decision. It is a decision that requires numerous considerations and one which we all think intensely about. I also do not believe that certain professions have any greater moral value over another. What I do believe is that at this point in our lives, we must make decisions that are as well-informed and calculated as possible. We need to look beyond what is offered to us on Princeton's silver platter and seriously consider the consequences of our decisions. If the result of this process really does bring you back to finance then you know you have made the right choice. Kyle Meng is a civil and environmental engineering major from Chappaqua, N.Y. He can be reached at kmeng@princeton.edu.