Do Oxbridge grads get a negative reputation in the workplace?

[hungarianharlot]

I was having a conversation at work the other day which somewhat surprised me. A few colleagues and I were talking about universities and where their kids were going to apply. DS is going to apply for history at Oxford.

I’m new to the workplace but the company sometimes has graduates from Oxford or Cambridge.

Colleagues said that those who went to Oxbridge were much less likely to want to get stuck in with the “boring” jobs and more likely to feel “entitled” to the more interesting work or for other people to assist them. Another said she finds them more likely to ask lots of questions rather than just getting things done. Is this fair?

Honestly, it wasn’t a particularly positive sentiment.

Funnily enough my boss who I've worked for 6 years only mentioned recently she went to Brown (she's from US). She's one of the smartest people I've ever met.

Plenty of things in life get (unfair) negative stereotypes for reasons other than jealousy.

I work with two, one is crippled with mental health problems and is often absent, horrendous anxiety. The other was promoted way beyond their capabilities due to their degree, failed spectacularly and has ended up on a basic standard level

@HorseandHeron They might tell you if asked! I’ve never had a Leeds grad tell
me they went to Leeds and dh went to Sheffield and would 100% only would say if asked! The Oxbridge thing is always fishing! Are you good enough to talk to? I’m not sure younger grads do this. It’s definitely a trait of older ones!

I don't think they do any more than any other grads.

My daughter started Durham uni this week.

I've noticed that any conversation about university starts with "it's so expensive...etc", followed by my child is doing an apprenticeship which is so much more worthy etc.......I think apprenticeship are great but am seeing degrees on the whole being judged more.

Being highly intelligent doesn’t mean that you don’t make a mistake from time to time 🙄

You’re showing your own lack of intelligence there.

Not true in my experience

No. It sounds to me like these people have a chip on their shoulder.

I would hire someone who finished with an oxbridge undergrad any day of the week. Their work ethic and critical thinking skills are simply very very good. Their biggest risk though, is that they’re burnt out from the pressures of their course.

Yes. When I meet someone, I always shake their hand and say “Hello, pleb. I’m Piglet (Cambridge)”. I say the last two words in the voice of the University Challenge voice over guy.

My would be boss's boss asked me how I thought I would get on with people given my accent (apparently too posh) and background (i.e. where I went to university). I pointed out that I wasn't planning to put a big sign on my desk saying Ineffable23 MA Cantab. Apparently my somewhat grumpy reply was the right one because I did get the job, but it's not the only time people have told me my university will count against me.

My boss (though he doesn’t know that I know he said it) says that oxbridge graduates always tell you. Which is bizarre, as it took years for me to tell him, when he directly asked me where I went to university. We must have worked together for 3 years at this point. I don’t mention it unless asked or other people who know bring it up. That occasionally happens. But I find it bizarre people think we all bring it up. I am not going to lie when asked where I went though.

"I don't think going to Oxbridge will make someone a difficult colleague, if they weren't already."

This with bells on. I've worked with young people from Oxbridge who have been very hardworking and committed. I went to Cambridge centuries ago (wouldn't get in now). I generally didn't mention that I had gone there.

Maybe you don’t, but a LOT of people find a way to get it in early doors…..

Edited to add, that oftentimes I do think to self interesting that you need to tell me about something you did 10/15/20 years ago. When there is no discernible reason to tell me (we are not chatting about university etc) hands up I am guilty of judging that person. Not to take away at all, from the achievement of attending Oxbridge…..but you know it’s not what we are judging on now…..

@Tinnybinnylinnyit was a wee joke. JFC lighten up.

I don’t mention it, to the point that people are occasionally cross that I “didn’t tell them”.

What it can do, perhaps particularly when you’re fresh out of Oxbridge, is make you less scared of stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything as hard as writing 2 or 3 essays a week to read out loud in front of experts who’d then tell me the flaws (“engage with my arguments”) or do exams that my entire degree rested on, where I did about 10 exams in a week. I suspect, with hindsight, that on occasion that meant I didn’t give appropriate deference to (nutjob) senior leaders because I didn’t have the political nous to work out that they weren’t quite as scary as Finals but were still Very Important.

Oxbridge grads can get an insanely large amount of work done in an insanely short amount of time, thanks to the way they had to work during their degrees, which is very different from all other unis. I'd employ them in a heartbeat, as long as they weren't the type with no social skills.

I am not sure you understand what I said.

The state school Oxbridge candidates are fine. It’s the ones who went to public school first who are more likely to be problematic.

@Mouldemort What a load of classist rubbish! The privately educated oxbrudge grads tend to out earn the state school ones. They are less likely to want lower paying jobs like teaching and charity work. The private school dc aim higher - obviously not 100% true but the privately educated do pull their weight at work.

I am talking about my experience of employing people. People who have an over-inflated sense of self-worth regardless of their background don’t perform as well as other candidates in jobs. I am sure they do jolly well in finance and politics where connections are very important. To be honest, it’s almost exclusively young men who are the issue.

Ah. Someone who went to oxbrdge.

I've worked with several oxbridge people in various of my workplaces. Only one of them had the kind of intelligence you double-take at. Of the rest, one was inept and over-estimated everyrthing about himself and of course earns plenty but had zero spark. The rest were / are bright enough but you wouldn't pick them out as Oxbridge from a crowd.

The main thing that sets them all apart are the connections and kudos going there has given them, not ability.

The irony of this poster dismissing someone else’s post as classist rubbish after writing this tripe 😆

Well if you consider a commitment to earning the most money as “aiming higher”, and disparage teachers and people in the charity sector, you really are proving my point.

This! I’ve seen it with kids who moved from state to private, some go in as lovely, well adjusted kids and a year down the line are snobbish and entitled.

I see the private school haters have turned up. How does one identify a former private school student when they’re at work?