Class

[Jog On]

Please define 'common' in this context.

In this context I'd say anyone who isn't:

You know, privatley educated toffs, boris or euguene types...

[HarryPearce]

Been trying to think of a suitable 'toff and the only one I can think of is Stephen Wolfram. From his entry on Wikipedia

Stephen Wolfram (born August 29, 1959 in London) is a scientist known for his work in theoretical particle physics, cellular automata, complexity theory, and computer algebra, and is the creator of the computer program Mathematica.


Early life

Of Jewish descent, Wolfram's father, Hugo Wolfram, was a novelist and his mother, Sybil Wolfram, was a professor of philosophy at Oxford. Wolfram was educated at Eton public school. Often described as a child prodigy, he published an article on particle physics at age 16[1] and entered Oxford University (St John's College) at age 17. He received his Ph.D. in particle physics from Caltech at age 20 and joined the faculty there. His work with Geoffrey Fox on the theory of the strong interaction is still used today in experimental particle physics.




It is also reported that he is extremely irritating and arrogant, any man who claim to have written the greatest book of the past century (A New Kind of Science) or words to that effect has to have something going for him.

In fact he's got most of the qualities needed to be a contractor :-)

[Moscow Mule]

Most of the banks I've worked in have been primarily staffed by Essex Barrow boys, not toffs!

It depends which part of the bank you work in.

The client facing (and I don't mean behind the counter) or the strategy roles that are not heavily IT dependent go to the toffs.

The donkey work jobs that are heavily IT dependent go to the people that in any other part of the country would be getting jobs as builders or mechanics but if they live in Essex they can easily get the train into the city instead.

Fair point, most of the donkey work goes to the donkeys. Unfortunately, these are the people I mostly deal with.

I don't agree that all client facing jobs are going to the toffs. I know of several men who've gone from back office donkeys to Head of Treasury etc off the back of hard work and time (20+ years).

You find a lot of the analyst/trader/broker jobs go to folk who have the "right" degree from the "right" university, since this is heavily in favour of a privileged upbringing you get more toffs in these roles.

[Gonzo]

You find a lot of the analyst/trader/broker jobs go to folk who have the "right" degree from the "right" university, since this is heavily in favour of a privileged upbringing you get more toffs in these roles.

A bloke I used to work with (he is of working class stock like me) went to work for a blue-blooded bank. He said he was amazed at how many sons of directors would leave public school, join the bank and immediately be given £1M portfolios to manage. His comment was "I had no idea just how well entrenched the old boy network still is."

[wendigo100]

I associate with toffs, but I'm not. I'm always open to tips on social climbing, you know, like getting into their daughter's...