Really interesting piece that made me think about dynamics at Stanford, where tech is having a similar impact. Levels are increasingly gamified and provide goals for structure-conditioned students. Founder is a prestige marker / career landmark as much as a chance to build. 1/ https://twitter.com/palladiummag/status/1287879012123963394

I do think tech has interesting fundamental differences from finance/consulting. It helps you build unique and interesting skillsets. Front-end, backend, security, ML are worlds different than consulting verticals. It offers generational stability without 100 hr weeks. 2/

Not claiming immunity from any of the above, of course. But I did notice stark differences in descriptions of student life. Email-driven clubs weren't too common among young engineers, who spent countless hours on problem sets or projects instead. 3/

Maybe that's the biggest difference in the grooming of new and old elites. Rather than pursuing lifelong interests only to move towards finance/consulting, students pursue STEM degrees (let's be real, CS) to set themselves up for high-paying tech jobs. 4/

Many others have discussed the importance of the humanities for tech workers. But unless this pipeline is actively changed, I don’t see how they’ll have the time in college. I've seen plenty of newer programmers in college (myself incl) who load up on technical coursework. 5/

It's easy to criticize, harder to prescribe. I think the article points out many great things that technically-leaning universities can also do: better advising (student and faculty), structures for mentorship w industry alums, and undergrad-only classes would go a long way. 6/

One important myth to deconstruct: you don't need a CS major to be a software engineer! A minor + internships is definitely sufficient. Personally, I love seeing Stanford students do the CS coterm after a different undergrad. Tech needs those differently trained perspectives. 7/

All of the above requires significant effort by universities. But I am curious how alums of elite undergrads can better help future students while leveling the playing field - especially when post-COVID, most colleges will flounder, while HYPSM will flourish. My DMs are open! 8/8