Perspectives
There’s an invisible timeline — that by a certain age you’re supposed to have it all figured out. NEXIS students sat down to talk honestly about the pressure to ‘make it’ young, and what success should actually mean.
“There’s this invisible timeline — like by a certain age you’re supposed to figure everything out.” That’s how one NEXIS student opened a candid conversation about a pressure almost everyone feels but few say out loud: the need to be successful before 23. For business students especially, the weight feels heavier.
So we let students speak freely — and the result is a refreshingly honest look at ambition, failure, and what success really means.
Are we in a hurry to succeed?
The consensus was yes. Society seems to expect people to “figure life out” somewhere between 23 and 25, and business students feel extra pressure to succeed early. But as one student pointed out, the timeline is often self-imposed: “If there’s no age limit, people will make an age limit themselves. I was already feeling pressure at 15 or 16.” The very idea of a deadline for success may be creating more anxiety than it resolves.
What scares students more: failure or being average?
For some, it’s failure — and specifically what society and family will think. “Nowadays failure means everything for students; they just get disheartened.” But for others, the deeper fear is being ordinary. “Being average hurts the most — no one wants to be equal to the next person.” It’s a very human instinct, and a revealing one: much of the pressure isn’t about the work itself, but about comparison.
“The journey of learning is more important than the journey of achieving success quickly. If you learn more, get the experience you need, you’ll get the work done better.”
— NEXIS student
Social media shows highlights, not the journey
Does social media show the real path to success? “It’s just the tip of the iceberg — the highlights,” students agreed. LinkedIn “I did this” posts can motivate or quietly stress you out. And the pressure isn’t only online: “It also comes from where we’re expected to be in real life.” When college students worry more about placements than learning, one student’s blunt explanation was, “money talks” — and the fear of being judged by family and society.
▶ Watch the full story on the NEXIS YouTube channel.
Redefining success without an age limit
The most useful shift the students landed on was this: maybe the problem is how we define success itself. Strip away the age limit, and the questions change from “Have I made it yet?” to better ones — Do I actually enjoy the process, or just the idea of it? Is my identity built only on achievements? Are we glorifying burnout because resting looks like failure? These aren’t comfortable questions, but they’re the right ones.
- The “succeed before 23” deadline is often self-imposed — and it starts far too early.
- For many students, the fear of being average outweighs the fear of failure.
- Social media shows highlights, not the messy, valuable journey of learning.
- Redefining success around learning and process — not speed — relieves the pressure.
How NEXIS takes the pressure off
This mindset is exactly why NEXIS School of Business is built around learning by doing rather than a race to a result. Students intern from the first year — not to pad a resume, but to discover what they’re genuinely good at before they have to commit to a path.
Mentorship from founders and industry experts replaces the anonymous comparison of a leaderboard. And a curriculum that rewards real projects over rote exams makes room for the one thing the pressure-to-succeed culture forgets: the journey of learning.
If that resonates, explore the 3-year Undergraduate Programme, the kinds of careers it leads to, or — for graduates and working professionals — the PGP programme.
Success on your terms, not a stopwatch
Discover a business school built around learning, exposure and real experience — not the pressure to peak by 23.
Frequently asked questions
Is it true you have to succeed before 23?
No. The “succeed before 23” timeline is largely a social construct. Students and mentors at NEXIS argue that the journey of learning and gaining real experience matters more than achieving success quickly.
Why do business students feel extra pressure to succeed early?
Because success is often measured by visible outcomes like placements and social-media highlights. NEXIS counters this by focusing on learning by doing and early internships that help students discover their strengths.
How does NEXIS help students handle career pressure?
Through early internships, mentorship from founders and industry experts, and project-based learning that rewards real experience over rote exams — so students find the right path instead of racing an arbitrary clock.
Based on a NEXIS student podcast on the pressure to succeed young.
