Editor’s note: David Kim is a former executive photo editor for the Daily. Kim was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
Nowadays, every college student and their mother seems to be talking about how up-and-coming consulting is, or how much they want to be a finance bro. Indeed, attending a top university has become a common avenue for entering into these high-status roles, as schools often host various recruiting events and other networking opportunities for their students.
But to what extent are these goals genuinely developed by students themselves, versus thrust upon them circumstantially because they attend an elite institution?
According to Evan Mandery, a professor of criminal justice at City University of New York, elite colleges tend to push students toward high-status careers like consulting, finance and tech, thereby creating a ‘career funnel.’ Mandery argues that this push lends itself to furthering socioeconomic disparity because access to these careers are largely dependent on attending top colleges. Moreover, many students report being encouraged to pursue these careers due to peer pressure and the general prestige surrounding them — a culture that universities continue to perpetuate.
Articles like these lead us to wonder: Is this true of Tufts as well?
At Tufts, many students who go on to pursue such careers start their journey in 180 Degrees Consulting, the Tufts Investment Banking Club or the Tufts Consulting Collective.
TCC provides hands-on experience, working with a wide range of industries to provide insights into business challenges.
Senior David Kim, a double major in economics and international relations, joined 180DC during his first-year and now serves as president. He initially dreamt of pursuing a career in the State Department, but eventually realized that he valued seeing the tangible impact of the work he was doing.
“I realized [that], in some ways, working in government is very inefficient because of the nature of just how our government is structured,” Kim said. “I wanted to do stuff that I would have an impact on, [where] I can see that measurable impact.”
For Kim, joining 180DC was a way to explore different career pathways.
“I had no idea what to do with my life, because I’m not going to work in government, so I [decided I] might as well try out a bunch of different industries through consulting,” he said.
When entering the consulting sector at Tufts, students are strongly encouraged to apply to both 180DC and TCC. Both follow a similar level of rigor and are equally competitive to be a part of, thus applying to both enhances students’ chances of securing an interview. Kim, however, was drawn specifically to 180DC because the organization gives students hands-on experience working on projects focused on nonprofit work, emphasizing social impact.
“I wanted to join [180DC] because of [the] intersectionality of the practical aspect of going into consulting … but also maintaining that aspect of what I found joy in, which is international relations, political advocacy [and] human rights,” he said.
In high school, Kim worked on human rights advocacy related to North Korea, building a strong connection and interest toward non-profit work; consequently, he actively sought out a role that would allow him to continue working in human rights upon arriving at Tufts.
“I wouldn’t say [Tufts] creates an environment for a [first-year] to be like, ‘Oh, wow, I suddenly want to go into nonprofit.’ I think you have to look for those opportunities. And that’s exactly what I did,” Kim said.
After graduating, Kim plans on going into management consulting at Bain & Company, where he is looking forward to applying his skills and knowledge gained from 180DC into pro-bono consulting as well.
“Usually people associate consulting with business, numbers [and] hard facts,” Kim said. “[But] there’s a side of consulting where you’re actually making an impact for a certain number of nonprofits … [and] actually [creating] a difference. A lot of people don’t recognize that side of consulting — that’s where a lot of [180DC] work comes in.”
Senior Theo Liu was actively engaged with TIBC during his sophomore and junior year. TIBC teaches students skills to be successful in the field of finance, while providing support and guidance throughout the recruitment process. Contrary to Mandery’s belief, Liu felt that the culture around pursuing a high-status career like investment banking at Tufts was very inviting. The encouraging and ambitious body of students that he was surrounded by helped create an environment where he felt supported.
“[The recruiting process] can be a bit rigorous and a little stressful at times, but I think having a good group of people in a supportive culture was something that was exciting about it,” Liu said.
Liu also commented that Tufts is not a “target school” for most top firms, meaning that there are no recruiters from banks like JP Morgan, for instance, who solely recruit students from Tufts. Before TIBC’s establishment, students interested in investment banking often had to put in more effort to network and secure interviews.
He added that in recent years, banks have increasingly reached out to TIBC for recruitment.
“Since [TIBC has] done well the past couple years, ... banks have reached out to our club specifically … instead of us reaching out to them,” Liu said.
Though finance culture has gained momentum at Tufts, Liu said he doesn’t notice the toxic culture often associated with the field.
“[Tufts has] a couple of pre-professional clubs like TCC and TIBC, which I think are incentivizing it, but I wouldn’t say that Tufts is pushing for it,” Liu said. “I think it’s just [the] culture amongst students.”
After graduating, Liu plans to pursue a career in investment banking.
Senior Jonathan Chung has been a member of the TCC since his sophomore year and has experienced a similar welcoming community.
“For TCC, it’s very collaborative in the sense that we are all here to explore consulting,” he said. “Whether … [you’re trying] out a consulting club just to get a feel for how [it] is, or if you actually want to develop your skills and experience within consulting with the goal of pursuing a career, … the community itself definitely wants you to succeed.”
Like Liu, Chung did not feel as though there was a strong university push for a lot of students to join these competitive pre-professional clubs.
“When I came into Tufts, I didn’t get the impression that there was this pressure to commit to one of these clubs,” he said. “I think you get back what you put in.”
