The new prestige job for ambitious people

@itshannahzhang

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SoundTikTok sound · original sound - itshannahzhang

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+34.5K views over 20.5d · ~1.7K/day · 6 observations

Why it worked

The video taps into a current cultural conversation about the future of work and the perceived prestige of different industries. By contrasting traditional high-status careers with the emerging AI field, it appeals to ambitious individuals seeking both financial reward and a sense of purpose.

Summary

The video discusses the shift in prestige jobs from traditional banking and consulting to the AI industry, highlighting companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. It contrasts the past appeal of high pay and status in finance with the current draw of meaningful work and mission-driven roles in AI.

Structure

1Shift from banking/consulting to AI as prestige jobs
2Past appeal of traditional finance careers
3Emergence of AI companies offering meaningful work
4OpenAI and Anthropic as new alternatives
5AI companies' focus on mission and humanity
6Personal anecdotes and call to action

Product placement

McKinsey & Company: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Bain & Company: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. JPMorgan Chase: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Morgan Stanley: appears as a logo and a building, does not act, removing it does not change the video. BCG: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Grok: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Meta AI: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Deepseek: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Claude: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Mistral AI: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. ChatGPT: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Perplexity: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Gemini: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. LinkedIn: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Columbia University: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Teach for America: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Venture for America: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. YC (Y Combinator): appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Techstars: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. 500 Global: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Pioneer: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Neo: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Pear: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Prod: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Arc: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Conviction: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. South Park Commons: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. The Matt: appears as a logo, does not act, removing it does not change the video. OpenAI: appears as a logo and is discussed as a company, it acts as a subject of the video, removing it would change the video. Anthropic: appears as a logo and is discussed as a company, it acts as a subject of the video, removing it would change the video. Moral Ambition (book): appears as a book cover, does not act, removing it does not change the video. When McKinsey Comes to Town (book): appears as a book cover, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Los Angeles Times: appears as a newspaper headline, does not act, removing it does not change the video. Stan.store: appears as a link aggregator, does not act, removing it does not change the video.

Original caption

The new prestige job for ambitious young people might not be banking or consulting. It might be AI. For decades, the smart-person playbook was obvious: go to a top school, join a bank or consulting firm, earn well, collect the name brand, and preserve your “optionality.” I followed that path too: Ivy League college, then Morgan Stanley. But prestige shifts when a new field offers the same combination of income, status, talent density, and career acceleration. Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic increasingly check those boxes—and add something banking and consulting often struggled to provide: a sense of mission. When I visited OpenAI’s office, it felt closer to an artist’s workshop than a traditional tech company. The halls emphasized storytelling, art, design, and the stated mission of ensuring AGI benefits humanity. That doesn’t mean everyone agrees with OpenAI, Anthropic, the morality of AI, their missions, or the decisions these companies make. I don’t think working there requires uncritical agreement, either. Some of the smartest people I know inside AI companies are deeply curious about the technology while still questioning parts of the industry. My prediction is simply that AI companies are becoming the new default prestige destination for insecure overachievers—for better or worse. Curious what you think: is this directionally right, or totally off the mark? Follow me if you’re building an ambitious career beyond the linear path.

More from @itshannahzhang

On-screen text

The new prestige job for ambitious people the new prestige job for smart people in their 20s won't be banking or consulting for much longer because there's a new one that gives them the one thing those jobs didn't have for decades TOP 10 U.S. COLLEGES FOR CONSULTING, INVESTMENT BANKING, AND TECH: According to Linkedin #1 Stanford University #2 UC Berkeley #3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology #4 Carnegie Mellon University #5 Harvard University #6 UPe for decades the smartest people have flocked to banking and consulting after graduation for the promise of high pay A name brand that opens doors and optionality to do anything they want afterwards myself included COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY I went to an Ivy League college and then banking at Morgan Stanley but over the past decade smart young people started looking for more meaningful work books like Moral Ambition made the argument that smart people should work on bigger societal problems WHEN MCKINSEY COMES TO TOWN THE HIDDEN INFLUENCE OF THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL CONSULTING FIRM and when McKinsey came to town exposed the negative societal impact of top consulting firms new prestige opportunities popped up that offered more meaningful work TEACH FOR AMERICA Teach for America and venture for America YC and other startup accelerators but none of them quite broke the choke hold that banking and consulting have on the insecure overachiever because they offered status and learning but not quite the same level of income now companies like Open AI and Anthropic are entering as new alternatives working at these companies is high income prestigious and there's a surprising sense of mission behind them whether you agree with it or not walking into opening his office, which I visited last month feels less like a tech company and more like an artist's workshop there are exhibits in the halls about the importance of art and storytelling design and curation the space is thoughtfully centered around the shared company belief of ensuring that AGI benefits humanity Los Angeles Times They built AI. Now Silicon Valley workers protest its threat to jobs and humanity STOP THE AT RACE Subscribers are Reading: Harvard's $100 billion 'risk' New York Sports Complex's wage compliance: 5 there are also more and more opportunities that these companies to do morally ambitious work like with nonprofits or helping local journalism like with nonprofits or helping local journalism I personally know people who work at these companies that are all ambitious, curious, creative don't necessarily agree with everything an AI and the corporate decisions even if they believe in the broader technology let me know what you think about this new prestige job and follow me if you're building a non-linear career

Transcript

The new prestige job for ambitious young people won't be banking or consulting for much longer because there's a new one that gives them the one thing those jobs didn't have for decades. For decades the smartest people have flocked to banking and consulting after graduation for the promise of high pay, a name brand that opens doors and optionality to do anything they want afterwards. Myself included. I went to an Ivy League college and then banking at Morgan Stanley. But over the past decade, smart young people started looking for more meaningful work. Books like Moral Ambition made the argument that smart people should work on bigger societal problems. And when McKinsey came to town, exposed the negative societal impact of top consulting firms. New prestige opportunities popped up that offered more meaningful work. Teach for America and venture for America. YC and other startup accelerators. But none of them quite broke the choke hold that banking and consulting have on the insecure overachiever because they offered status and learning, but not quite the same level of income. Now companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are entering as new alternatives. Working at these companies is high income, prestigious, and there's a surprising sense of mission behind them, whether you agree with it or not. Walking into opening his office, which I visited last month, feels less like a tech company and more like an artist's workshop. There are exhibits in the halls about the importance of art and storytelling, design and curation. The space is thoughtfully centered around the shared company belief of ensuring that AGI benefits humanity, even if the general public believes otherwise. There are also more and more opportunities that these companies to do morally ambitious work, like with nonprofits or helping local journalism. I personally know people who work at these companies that are all ambitious, curious, creative, don't necessarily agree with everything an AI and the corporate decisions, even if they believe in the broader technology. Let me know what you think about this new prestige job and follow me if you're building a non-linear career.