Why This Oxford Grad Shunned Elite Careers for Deeper Insights

The Vice-Chancellor's Charge

As the vice-chancellor addressed graduates at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre, her voice resonated throughout the historic hall, urging them to go forth and transform the world. The rustling of ceremonial robes filled the air, accompanied by the clicking of cameras capturing the moment. Graduates beamed with pride, clutching their diplomas that would soon lead many of them to McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and Clifford Chance—the epitome of elite career paths.

A Moment of Irony

Among the clapping graduates was Simon van Teutem, who found the occasion laced with irony. “I knew where everyone was heading,” he shared in a conversation with Fortune. “Everyone did. It made the situation even more uncomfortable—we were all pretending not to acknowledge it.”

Consolidation of Career Choices

In recent decades, career trajectories for the elite have significantly narrowed. In the 1970s, merely one in twenty Harvard graduates ventured into fields such as finance or consulting. Fast forward twenty years, and that figure surged to one in four. By the previous year, half of Harvard's graduates had chosen careers in finance, consulting, or Big Tech. The financial rewards have also escalated: data from a senior exit survey for the Class of 2024 indicated that 40% of employed graduates secured first-year salaries exceeding $110,000, with nearly three-quarters of those entering consulting or investment banking surpassing that benchmark.

Choosing a Different Path

Months after that graduation day, van Teutem was offered positions at both McKinsey and Morgan Stanley. However, at just 22 years old, he declined these opportunities to dedicate three years to working with Dutch news organization De Correspondent, where he focused on exploring the subtle forces that make such career decisions feel almost predestined.

The Prestige Treadmill

He initiated this project after witnessing how the prestige treadmill drew exceptionally talented and creative individuals into unfulfilling roles, effectively sealing the door behind them. Van Teutem observed that many who step into banking often claim they are just using the job as a stepping stone, yet they tend to remain longer than anticipated. “These firms cracked the psychological code of the insecure overachiever,” he noted, “and then built a self-reinforcing system.”

The Bermuda Triangle of Talent

Van Teutem's book, The Bermuda Triangle of Talent, emerged from a place of personal frustration. A lifelong enthusiast of economics and politics, he entered Oxford as an undergraduate in 2018 with the goal, as he puts it, “to do something meaningful with my talents and privileges.” However, within two years, he found himself interning at BNP Paribas and then at Morgan Stanley, where he felt so engrossed in his work on mergers and acquisitions that he described it as if he were “saving babies from a burning house.”

Questioning the Value of Work

Despite his intense commitment, van Teutem's unease did not stem from the nature of the work itself—he is not among the Gen Z cohort that views all corporations as “evil.” Instead, he found the tasks he was engaged in to be rather trivial or mundane. During his internship at McKinsey, he experienced a similar sense of hollowness despite the polished environment. “I was surrounded by rocket scientists capable of creating remarkable things,” he reflected, “but they were merely constructing basic Excel models or working backward to validate pre-determined conclusions.”

Engaging with the Unselected

Choosing to forgo full-time job offers, van Teutem embarked on a mission to interview those who did accept them. Over three years, he connected with 212 individuals across the spectrum—from interns to partners—in the realms of banking, consulting, and corporate law. His aim was to uncover how so many high-achieving graduates found themselves entrenched in these paths.

Conclusion

Simon van Teutem's journey illuminates a significant issue within the current job market, particularly for bright young minds. By rejecting the allure of prestigious firms, he seeks to understand the underlying forces that compel talented individuals to pursue seemingly safe, yet ultimately unfulfilling, career options. His exploration raises important questions about ambition, fulfillment, and the true meaning of success for the new generation.