Meritocracy in TechEh, It’s not Perfect
Eh, It’s not Perfect
um not me
I want to be clear: the technology space is very far from perfect. In fact, there are sooo many things wrong with it that stack the odds against certain applicants. Biases exist — and we have to do something about it. But the following is my personal experience with the tech world — and what I’ve come to learn about it.
One of my goals over the past year or so has been to accelerate my growth. One of the most effective ways to do that is to “level up.”
What I mean by that is that I want to climb the professional ladder as quickly as possible — jumping through hoops and hustling all the way.
And, luckily for me, the tech space rewards people who have this inertia towards hard-work finding success. I like the technology industry because it has allowed me to propel my growth faster than any other passion of mine.
Here is a real world example that may give you so better clarification:
To make things simple: say that I am really interested (as of now) in two different career paths (not entirely true) — consulting and tech operations.
Consulting is a great opportunity to solve really important problems and add a ton of value — making a big difference. I take classes at my University in Economics, Strategy and Finance — preparing me for the real world of consulting. Over the past couple of months, I have done my best to talk to as many people as I could in the industry. And with some success, and nice people, I have been able to have conversations with analysts at some of the top firms in the world.
In addition to that, I got to compete in the Harvard International Case Competition and we got 2nd Place! This was an awesome introduction to the consulting world.
While all of that has been great —it has been like 9 months since I started college. And where have I gotten? How much closer am I to understanding what it is to be a consultant?
I’d argue little. Because I know, that watching is 1/10 of what it is like to live it. And the consulting world, at least to what I have seen thus far, is very age-cognizant. i.e If you are a freshman in college — good luck finding a legit opportunity. Even my calls have only been with junior associates (people who just entered the industry). The big names won’t even take my calls!?
Compare this experience with the tech world. It has been the same 9 months and lots has happened.
- I’ve interned at a VC
- I am helping out with a REAL company that is growing quickly
- I am interning in San Francisco this summer doing something that really matters
- I’ve learned how to build websites
- I am talking to Managing Partners at REAL Venture Capital Firms
Let’s not call it a perfect meritocracy, because that would not be true. But what we can call it is a space that rewards people for reaching out and showing interest.
That little thing — the showing interest part — goes a long long way in the tech world. It has helped me out so so much and positively reinforced me to continue reaching outwards. Continue growing. And continued my ability to accelerate growth.
Now it is not that consulting is stuck in its ways, it is just harder to break into. * Nearly impossible to break into if you are not of age.
So I will conclude on this note, with a thank you to those in the tech space who take chances on young talent. I am interested because I know you care, and that little thing may be my future difference!
PS Consulting Firms should higher younger people — The Investment, in the long run, is WORTH IT! If not, the tech space will keep getting them!
Let’s get the conversation going 🙂
Thank you soo soo much for reading, I really do appreciate it.
I’d always love to continue this conversation on twitter — so ping me there @itsjordangonen or email me jordangonen@wustl.edu
// thanks arteen arabshahi for starting this conversation 🙂
By jordangonen on May 5, 2016.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.