I heard this saying recently... and it got me wondering about school and grades, and life after school is over. Is it true in your experience... do "A" students tend to work for "B" students?
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Meaning do the higher students do the work for the lower students? Sure but I only see my students once a week so collaboration is limited. They are each expected to do their best work every time I see them though.
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@swedishfish: ah sorry, I meant after school... like at companies. So the B and C students tend to own the companies, and the A students tend to be the employees.
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@mrbee: oh, that's interesting. It would definitely make a thoughtful study if people were honest about their grades.
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That may be true, and there may, at least in specific circumstances, be a personality factor involved. At least in my field (Christian ministry, which is different from others obviously but has some shared characteristics), the "bosses" are usually the senior pastors, who usually have broader skill sets and are, at least the good ones, charismatic, good public speakers, have good people skills, etc.: things that you find in a lot of B students who focused on their extracurriculars and interactions more than their grades. I was an A student, and I plan to go into a specialized ministry (working with children) so by the nature of my job and my specific skill set, I will likely be an A student working under a B student. In my case, it doesn't really bother me--I definitely think there is more to life than grades, but I also think there is more to life than your "rank" on any ladder too! But this is only my personal perspective--I would be interested to hear others.
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My husband likes to bring up some study he heard on NPR that is similar to this- they said that left brained kids tend to grow up to be the bosses where right brained kids tend to be the employees. I think it's because left brained people tend to be more creative and risk takers which you need to be to make business decisions where right brained people perform best with clear direction already defined.
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My dad had the head of a law firm he was interviewing at tell him this. He ended up turning down a job from them because the guy was such a jerk. I don't think it's true, I think it just varies a lot. I know plenty of smart people who got excellent grades who are doing very well now. But I also don't think grades are necessarily indicative of how you perform in your career. Some people just don't thrive in the classroom the way they do in the real world.
ETA: I think the guy actually said something like "A students teach the B students who work for the C students."
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I was mostly an A student with some Bs sprinkled in. I own my own company.
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I can see that being correct as a college instructor. Often A students are great at learning and thrive in the college environment but they don't often have some necessary skills that aren't school based. B students have to struggle a little and they learn to work through difficult problems. They learn to work through things and they learn time management skills and they learn to work. Not all A students or B students are like this of course it is a very BROAD generalization. There are some A students who work very very hard and struggle. But many of the A students I see have been A students from elementary school.
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I think this study is probably right half of the time, meaning it's true for some and equally not true for others. I was an A student and my bosses were likely not, but I think that one day I may be that boss, so I don't think it means a ton. However, I will say that those who focused less on grades may be better socially and I think there's something to be said for that natural charisma some people have. I know of people in my profession who have moved up simply because others like them.
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I've heard this saying before. I'm sure there's some more truth to it in certain industries. I can see something really analytical and precise (like engineering or science fields) that the A students are the workers that actually need to know how every little thing works, and the B students tend to be more managerial? Just IMHO.
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I was valedicorian in high school and graduated college with a 4.0 and so far, this is true for me. I don't really have the type of personality to manage employees, anyway. I am an employee now, but my goal is to be able to work for myself and be an independent freelancer.
My husband was a B student and he has 70 employees directly below him.
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I don't know what kinds of grades my bosses got, but I was mostly an A/B student and am perfectly content to not be the boss. I simply don't want to work those hours.
In fact, after 5 years at the company, HR requests we take our college GPAs off our resume. Nobody cares how well you did in college at that point
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I think it depends on the business. I was an A/B student and hope to work for myself one day! My dad owns a small business with around 100 or so employees an I really don't think he wa an a student. He went to college for two years on an athletic scholarship and then was in the army for over a decade, then worked for a larger company in the same field another 10+ years and then broke off and formed his own company. I think personality has a lot to do with who WANTS to be self employed/the boss regardless of grades. It's 24/7!
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Hmm, maybe. My boss has a high school education, while in hold a Masters in our field. He came to the field by accident. I got into it by choice. My company prides itself on employees who worked their way up regardless of education. It however sometimes leads to unsavory types taking advantage of the system at the expense of others.
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