The power of the crowd

Well. This accounting assignment doesn't seem to be getting done anytime soon, so I might as well rant a bit. Someone told me this morning it's cathartic.

I'd like to think that I've never really given in to peer pressure much, be it in terms of career, lifestyle, relationships, or most notably, as several of my friends would tell you, fashion choices. It's strange then, that the immense pressure to give in and run with the pack has finally caught up with me now, at business school, in my mid-20s.

I came to B-school with three years of consulting experience behind me, with the aim of going into general management after school. That was the plan, right from when I wrote my essays to when I received my offers, to when I accepted the offer from this school. Then I received these mails about pre-workshops to learn more about consulting; all my peers travelling India were arriving early to attend this, so I figured, why not? And spent the rest of the summer thinking I would look at both management consulting and general management as career options.

After the workshop, however, I simply wasn't sure if this was what I wanted. And the more I go to information events or company presentations about consulting, the more my discomfort increases. The more I become convinced that this is really not what I want.

But saying that, and simply going after general management, isn't so easy. I'd like to say I don't give into peer pressure, but when you see everyone around you dressed in formals because some consultants are coming to give a company presentation, and you're sitting in your jeans and a sweatshirt, you can't help but wonder if you're missing out on something. I told a Second Year student I'm dithering between the two, and his instinctive reaction was "Trust me, you'll end up in consulting. Never underestimate the power of the crowd."

Part of me also wonders if I'm being an escapist, if I'm trying to take the easy route, if I'm giving up something I should be doing. But then I go to a general management event, and I'm excited by what they say, and I know why I want to be there. I go to a consulting event, and I have no idea why I'm there. Maybe I should trust my gut instinct a bit more.

But it's not easy running against the pack.