[chasely]

I saw this anecdotally in grad school. Despite coming from a solidly middle class family I was definitely on the poorer side of my colleagues at the R1 I attended.

You also see it in pretty much any field that confers status in exchange for lower pay. Starkest example I can think of is journalism, where you do a lot of schooling and low-paid or unpaid internships before you're able to get your first low-paying job.

[beezlebroxxxxxx]

Journalism has also become a sort of "status" job post-watergate for a lot of Ivy leaguers. The steps from journalism to "media consultant" are pretty small and there's a huge network effect of 'who you know' coming into play. Going to the same school as a judge or politician can open doors.

This is the same way in pretty much all creative fields, though. Museums and galleries are a particularly egregious example. You can start working there for peanuts as a student and find out your fellow student colleagues regularly go to the French Riviera to "recharge" for a weekend.

[kevviiinn]

Hmm, Tucker Carlson?

[jackcosgrove]

I'd much rather the children of wealthy families went into research or the arts - as long as they are not bad at what they do and displace more talented people by being connected - rather than they go into finance or management and make more money.

IANARK (rich kid) but I imagine they see how unfulfilling the money chase is growing up and choose other paths. Which is good for them and good for society. I bet this is part of the "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" dynamic.

[yamtaddle]

IIRC Graeber put some observations about this effect in Bullshit Jobs, especially as it relates to creatively or ethically fulfilling jobs with some decent social status attached to them. Media, non-profit careers, that kind of thing.