You've hit on one of my pet peeves. Having traveled in some high management and VC circles, I have seen a certain attitude towards 'success'. Many of these folk seem to think that life has a very simply formula: if you work hard, you will be successful. Many who say that come from upper middle class and wealthy backgrounds, and have the incumbent educations. To be sure, it (usually) takes a great deal of hard work to get ahead. But, some paths to success are just plain easier than others. The wealthier you are, the most cultural and economic support you have towards a good education. The poorer you are, the more the forces pulling you in the OPPOSITE direction. This results in a good number of people who work hard all their lives; sometimes 2 or 3 jobs; and never 'get ahead'.
Whenever I make this argument, my wealthy friends point to individual instances of people of various poorer backgrounds who have 'made it'. My point is not that there are not those who have; but that the amount of energy and perseverance they had to exhibit to get there was way above others who started from a 'higher' starting point.
I have worked in high tech all my life, most as a manager. Although the state of California has a high population of Hispanics, I have encountered very few in the companies I work and deal with. Why is this? Clearly, there have been available positions for qualified candidates; we were until recently importing all the H1s we could.
There must be an explanation. Cultural influences, lack of qualified education, economic conditions, whatever. And what is the solution? |
