Fiance or Tech Careers for STEM

A RAID???? I think not…

No Gravatar

I’ve often written how I was bound and determined to develop concepts for dialysis since I was a tyke.  OK.  Maybe not a tyke in the true definition (not that it’s all that clear how old a tyke may be), but by 8 years of age.

It never dawned on me back then that there were “great” jobs in Wall Street.  As a matter of fact, it was clear to me (it would probably be more useful to state that meant the adults with whom I was in contact) that Wall Street was for folks who were interested in sales.  Because they ‘sold’ stocks to you and me.

By the time my company was listed on the Inc 500 (the program began in 1982- and we were listed for a few years, until I considered that this was a wrong measurement– and we changed our company’s drivers), it became clear that while entrepreneurship is one way to garner the brass ring of success, so was going to Wall Street.

Over the past 3 or 4 decades, Wall Street has become a major factor in the US economy.  It has almost overtaken manufacturing as a major contributor to US corporate profits.  (The sector now comprises 20% of US profits; manufacturing has about the same percentage- but employs twice as many folks!)

But, there are changes afoot, once again.  Over the past decades, we thought Wall Street began raiding the best colleges.  Taking the best and the brightest of these schools’ graduates.  (Check out how many Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford grads turn up on Wall Street.)

And, we’re not talking about liberal arts folks. No way.  Wall Street runs on algorithms, so they need MIT, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon engineers and physicists to drive their firms’ profits and directions.  Until the turn of this decade, it was not unusual to see 1/3 of MIT’s engineers turning up in the world of finance- rather than toiling away in R&D, manufacturing, or technical management.

But, there are numbers- and there are numbers.  Dr. Pian Shu (Harvard Business School) determined that we need to consider different metrics.

Back when I was going to grad school, many a professor (not mine- other professors in the departments with which I was affiliated) would complain that I need to specialize in one area.  Because that was critical to get ahead in the R&D business.  (It also was critical to get that professorial position.)   Students who were the brightest (as measured by the GPA statistic) or innovative all followed that rubric.

Pain Shu STEM on Wall Street

According to Shu (who studied MIT students from 1994 through 2012), those folks who were decided that Wall Street was their meal ticket however, were those with much lower GPA, perhaps also those who took courses outside the mainstream curriculum.  (OK.  My “multiple specialty” concept is what afforded me the ability to be an entrepreneur- because I knew a lot about a lot.  As opposed to a little about a lot.)

Shu found that students with lesser credentials (less than stellar high school careers, lower college GPA’s) were those who migrated to Wall Street.  Interestingly, these students were also more likely to belong to a fraternity (or sorority).

I’m not knocking these social organizations- I was a Phi Sigma Delta (gobbled up by ZBT before I finished my undergraduate studies)- but the membership was significantly smaller at engineering schools than traditional colleges; and members at traditional colleges were less likely to be engineering, math, or physics majors.

Shu found that those with higher GPA’s produced patents (folks whom she defined as “innovators”) and that the students migrating to finance lacked “in-depth knowledge of their field” and were not steeped in the “the process of science and experimentation”.  (These last two statements were the results of self-evaluation surveys of the students.)

But, it’s also true that the top students going to MIT were like I was- they have a clear focus of the careers they plan to have.  It’s the less than top players who may lack that laser focus- and are, therefore, more susceptible to the wiles of Wall Street.

Now, before you retort that this was just one school, Shu also studied folks who participated in a national mathematical contest- the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition.  (Most folks just call this the Putnam Competition.)  This contest provides scholarships for undergraduates- and cash stipends to the universities with the top students (as measured by contest results).

Fiance or Tech Careers for STEM

Shu found that those with top Putnam ratings were far more likely to end up in R&D.  Those below the top ranks were more likely to find their careers in finance.

Obviously, the finance industry is not stealing our best and brightest STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) graduates- despite the lay person’s concept that Wall Street thrives on quant (quantitative skills).

No, like many an entrepreneur, it is more critical for finance folks to have broader skill sets, including vital social skills that many a nerd lacks.  (Look folks, I went to Brooklyn Poly and MIT.  I know you think I’m a nerd.  But, I also recall a visit to MIT with my (then 9 year old) son.  As I showed him where I toiled, where I taught a few classes, he became pensive, pulled me to a short stop and said… “Abba.  I owe you an apology.  I always thought you were a nerd.  Nope. These folks are nerds.”  It’s all relative.)

(By the way, other researchers have considered the fact that it’s the college job recruitment process that aligns students with Wall Street careers. Wall Street recruiters wined and dined Ivy League and MIT students, so they become more open to careers in finance- despite their original career concepts when first matriculating at these schools. As a matter of fact, many of the college entrants don’t know about the big Wall Street Consulting firms- and think finance jobs revolve about working in bank retail.)

Hmm. So much for the myth that Wall Street wants to perpetuate- that they hire the best and the brightest.  Except…

Shu also found that more recent MIT matriculants seem to be picking more technical curricula at MIT (yes, that’s possible)- and getting higher grades.  Her postulate is that the Great Recession changed the patina of a Wall Street career- so the students need to concentrate and perform better to get the jobs where they exist now- and that’s  NOT on Wall Street.

 

 

 

Share this:
Share this page via Email Share this page via Stumble Upon Share this page via Digg this Share this page via Facebook Share this page via Twitter
Share

2 thoughts on “A RAID???? I think not…”

Comments are closed.