Managing Elites

How does one become a member of an elite profession? Managing Elites examines how elites-in-training contest, rationalize, and ultimately embrace their dominant positions in society. Using interviews with law and MBA students, the author shows that becoming elite is not a straightforward process without tensions. Successful socialization outcomes—employment in large corporate law firms or prominent investment banks and consulting firms—require both accomodation and resistance to ideologies about achievement and meritocracy.