A Non-Profit Girl in a Corporate World

Had dinner with an out-of-town friend from high school tonight. She brought someone she knew from college. Both definitely corporate types, but certainly down to earth enough for me to enjoy the company. S., (the friend of a friend) seemed a little stand-offish at first, but she warmed right up at my stupendous tour of Millennium Park (really, it’s good, you should take it) and dinner is going well until….


S: You know, the daughter of the owner of McSorely’s went to Yale. I met her once. It’s totally the best bar in New York. Seriously. Well, I mean, all the other ones like it are in Brooklyn (waves hand dismissively).

E (the high school friend): I heard her grandfather lost it in a poker game.

S: True story. And she’s really intent on getting it back. I can totally see why. How great would it be to own the coolest bar in the city?

E: Amazing

S: We should open a bar. You know how much money you can make through mark-up on a keg?

E: Why don’t we? How much capital would we need?

S: Quite a bit, but you already know tons of people in the finance industry. And plus, you don't even really have to pay the bartenders much because people tip so well in New York.

Me: (finally finds voice) Wait a minute. You guys could really be happy owning a bar for the rest of your lives? Selling overpriced beer to 22-year olds and making small talk for a living?

E: Sure

S: Why not?


Particularly interesting for me, since I’m starting to look for a new job and there seems to be a fork in the road. On one hand, naïve as it sometimes sounds, I honestly feel a responsibility to use my good fortune and my education to make some difference in the world. I need to make sure that my job allows me to look myself in the mirror every morning. And I'm proud of that, so thank you parents (and happy 29th anniversary, by the way!). Still, despite their sometimes inane conversation topics and occasional socialite-in-training comments, these two ivy leaguers are driven and really, really intelligent (Park tour led to dinner led to coffee and almost four hours of truly stimulating conversation, despite the bar blip) and I just haven’t found enough of that in the non-profit world. In some ways, elitism and over-ambition (thanks for the word, mom, it’s apt here) is easier to take than the frighteningly slow pace of change (??) and general lack of precision in the non-profit world.

So do I find another job with a small do-gooder non-profit (perhaps with a bit more leaning towards policy, which is where I ultimately want to end up) or do I sell out slightly and take a consulting-type job that guarantees young, intelligent coworkers and a faster pace? Guess we'll see who responds to the resumes first...