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<p>True, and I never said that being an analyst was for everyone. </p>
<p>However, the truth is, all of these ‘prestige’ career paths involve miserable workloads and are probably going to treat you like garbage. For example, Silicon Valley startup tech companies are infamous for their workloads to the point that engineers sometimes sleep in their office and literally won’t leave the office for many days. Microsoft engineers work like dogs too. Consider this quote from Vault.</p>
<p>"Microsoft employees had better appreciate their lovely Redmond campus; they certainly spend enough time there. “Programmers work about 80 hours a week,” we hear. But this doesn’t mean that there is a consistent grind, week in, week out - like in so many other ways, schedules at Microsoft often resemble college. “Work hours vary based on where we are in a project cycle - it is a lot like being in school - you slack off after finals and at the beginning of the semester and work extra hard right before finals.” Insiders cite the flexible hours as a plus, but with a wink and a laugh: “There’s a joke around here that goes, ‘There are no set hours at Microsoft, you can work any 12 hours of the day you want,’” one insider tells us. Such long hours are “not mandatory,” we hear, “but generally this is what you’ll have to do, not only to get your job done but also time you’ll need to obtain additional skills to advance your career.” While most employees work at Microsoft because they genuinely enjoy doing their jobs, the long hours can affect them. “You have to actively manage your time to make sure you keep a good balance in your life,” remarks one employee. Another says, “Make sure you get your downtime.” "</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vault.com/store/book_preview.jsp?product_id=342[/url]”>http://www.vault.com/store/book_preview.jsp?product_id=342</a></p>
<p>Or consider this article about the lack of sleep often suffered by startup tech workers.</p>
<p><a href=“http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/12/sleep.deprived.idg/[/url]”>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/12/sleep.deprived.idg/</a></p>
<p>The same thing is true at other engineering companies. For example, I know that engineers at General Electric who are put on the fast track to management are often times expected to work 60-80 hour weeks. </p>
<p>The point is, working hard and not being treated well are all par for the course when you’re talking about jobs like this. Sure, you can get a much easier engineering job that involves light hours and a high quality of life, i.e. working for the government or for a slow-moving company. But the truth is, if you do that, you probably won’t advance as quickly, as these companies tend to promote more on seniority rather than merit, there aren’t that many promotion opportunities anyway, and the prestige of the company will not be as strong. Let’s face it. It’s prestigious to have Google or Yahoo or Microsoft on your resume. But you don’t get anything for free - you have to pay for it through your sweat and blood.</p>
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<p>You say that like that’s a bad thing. I would argue that , grade inflation, coupled with high admissions standards, is actually a good thing. Grade inflation makes the graduatees of the school more competitive in getting into professional school (especially law and med school) as well as in getting jobs and scholarships. Let’s face it. It’s easier to get a Rhodes Scholarship coming out Harvard than it is coming out of MIT, because the easier Harvard grading makes you look better. Yes, some MIT people have won the Rhodes, but it’s easier to win it at Harvard. Fair or not fair, that’s the reality of the situation.</p>