Debate: Ivory Towers VS Field of Carnage

I believe prestigious jobs nowadays can be seperated into two categories. The first category are the "Ivory Towers", where a man in such a position and industry will not stoop to the level of plebeians, much less interact with them. These professions are the most prestigious, isolated from common jobs, even the "white shoe" jobs that belong in the "Field of Carnage". These fields face less "plebeian" competition but far more "elite" competition.

These fields include:

Classic Elite Academia - Philosophy/Classics/History/Economics/Politics fields at Oxbridge, LSE, Yale, top LACs and equivalent schools. Working in a field that does not attract "gold diggers", but rather students with true intellectual curiosity at the most prestigious institutions that are not STEM nor pre-professional (students only learn to get a job, not for the sake of learning) in nature (MIT, Stanford, Harvard, UCB, CMU).

High Politics - 

Being the head of state or another very high ranking position is unattainable for even the most determined plebeian. Your competitors will all have intensely privileged and advantaged backgrounds, with family members that have both wealth and influence. 

The second category is the "Field of Carnage". These jobs, while still prestigious, are competitive to the point of insanity. Not because you need great skill or talent to break in, mind you, but due to the sheer amount of unqualified and delusional candidates. 

Such fields include:

High Finance, Management Consulting, Tech, Law, Medicine.

Those industries are far easier to "break in" than an Ivory Tower profession, but any unqualified (not old money) person can compete. This is truly carnage against the lowest in society, the greedy and vain (those who chase percieved and false prestige (in the case of tech and medicine) and percieved gold (only high finance makes a decent living)). 

I would never attempt to enter a Field of Carnage as I would be competing and rubbing elbows with the plebeian class. In Classic Elite Academia and High Politics, my competitors are from the same pedigree as me and I am insulated from the commoners.

1 Comments
 

Enim sed dolores nulla maiores. Fugiat cum rerum quia sed ut. Facilis veniam error eos. Sequi et recusandae harum accusamus voluptate.

Ad quidem aut quibusdam id. Voluptatum alias et nemo quisquam consequatur. Necessitatibus rem magnam nesciunt neque voluptatibus sit incidunt atque. Nobis est facilis consequatur velit. Sed et maiores amet aut aut fugit ut.

Sit architecto numquam fuga unde veritatis vitae eius. Officia reprehenderit reiciendis dolorem. Veniam recusandae nisi omnis ducimus dolorem ullam suscipit.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”