Academic Prestige Is Real—But It’s Not Everything

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Jul 17, 2025 · 11m

Let’s be honest: where you went to school still shapes your academic career.

If your degree says “top 10,” doors magically open. If it doesn’t? You hustle harder. You stay later. You apply three times more. And you hear, “we had many qualified applicants” way too often.

I didn’t know the rules when I started. I didn’t grow up around people who talked about elite universities or academic journals. I just did the work—day after day.

And I’m still here.

Yes, the pecking order in academia is real. The status games are real. But here’s the truth: they don’t have to define you. There’s power in…