It may be another case of confirmation bias on my part but I feel like I can almost recognize a former eagle scout when I meet one, even as senior or middle aged adults. I can’t put my finger on it but there does seem to be a distinctive character trait about them just as I often see in marines and former navy veterans.
Mostly I would say good traits but sometimes I feel they are overly compelled to keep getting merit badges. Which in a work environment is probably a good thing.I have a nephew who got his Eagle Badge.
Last I heard, he was a ski bum.
No, I don’t like his parents, as a matter of fact.
No, you’re nothing special.
Perhaps you should do a randomized, double blind study and see if you can pick out the Eagle Scouts.
If there is a correlation I believe it is because those with the temperament to become Eagle Scouts carry that into other areas of life.
They are Eagle Scouts because of the type of person they are, they did not become the type of person they are by becoming Eagle Scouts.
(I made it to Star, two ranks below Eagle, and stopped bothering to advance because I reached the level where I could hold the leadership positions I wanted. I also had reached the age where there were many things more interesting than shepherding a bunch of whiney little shits through a weekend camping at a state park.)
Driving need for formal recognition? Identity derived from institutional involvement? Good at following rules and regulations and kowtowing to hierarchial authority?
Marines, many of them, continue to self-identify as Marines even after separation from the USMC. I don’t see a similar attitude in Eagle Scouts or sailors.
I was an Eagle Scout*, and to this day I find myself compulsively following mama Eagles.
*true, although the rest of the sentence isn’t
I think you may have hit the nail on the head here. I knew a couple of kids in my school and a few others from the neighborhood who went all the way through eagle scouts and they did have the temperament before they went that far.
I hear they imprint on the very first troop leader they see after becoming an eagle.
I have always believed becoming an Eagle Scout is a great accomplishment. One of my sons achieved the rank. I believe Eagle Scouts are someone special and deserving of recognition long after their eighteenth birthday.
Regrettably my Eagle Scout son reports that people in general (including himself if truth be told) don’t hold the same opinion. It is a nice thing to say about someone, but it isn’t a badge of honor. Sigh.
As for why becoming an Eagle Scout is, in my mind, such a big deal-the young man focused on a long series of mildly challenging tasks over a period of years and accomplished them. Big deal-but remember this is during a critical time in their lives. It isn’t the tasks they accomplished, it is the discipline at at critical time in their lives they showed accomplishing them. During their teenage years they focused, they worked, they achieved something rare. The ability to do that speaks a lot about their character and their ability. At least that is how I look at it.
Most US teenagers cannot claim anything similar. There are many ways to show one’s ability-do all the long list of things one needs to do to get into a competitive college, win a national science fair contest, build a band, there are teenagers who achieve significant things, and one of them is achieve Eagle Scout. Most teenagers can’t claim any of those things.
I’ve never identified an Eagle scout in my life. Unless they happened to tell me. And nobody after about age 20 would consider that something worth mentioning out of context.
Totally confirmation bias on your part.
The exact same thing can be said about many accomplishments. Take your post and substitute “High School Quarterback” for every time you used “Eagle Scout” and it is pretty much the same. There are many many other accomplishments one can do as a youth that also fit.
I think your son just hasn’t been in the world long enough. After being in the IT workforce since 1997, with a somewhat varied career and earning two graduate degrees along the way, that “Eagle Scout, 1987” line under “Other Accomplishments” on my resume is probably the first thing that comes up in any job interview after we talk about my last job and my skill set. I was last asked about it in my last interview- in 2014!
People really do respect and think highly of it, especially people who have been involved with Boy Scouts in some way. I’ll agree and say that when I was 22 and in college, people didn’t really care, but when I was out of school, it took on a different level of prestige.
And I agree with DrFidelius- it’s a sort of self-selection kind of thing. In general, getting your Eagle Scout badge isn’t something that you get by being passive or unmotivated. And for a lot of boys, getting their Eagle Scout rank is something that’s extremely confidence-building and teaches the value of determination, and allows them to be recognized for it. It’s the kind of thing that if done correctly (by themselves and the adult leadership), will stick with them for the rest of their lives in terms of the personality traits that it reinforces.
I think you are wrong about this, It will very often come up fairly early in a conversation. I won’t say out of context necessarily.
Sounds like a recruiting ad for the LAPD or the intro of a job posting for Accenture.
Stranger
I think you hang around weird people. One of my oldest friends from high school made it to Eagle, and he never brings it up in conversation. He says that nobody’s ever asked him about it, either. He lives in Chicago, FWIW.
I made it to Life, before girls happened.
Trustworthy? Loyal? Helpful? Friendly?
msmith, I am surprised with your MBA and consulting background, you didn’t have more context on this. Yeah, I get the snark - and yes, there is always a risk that a person put into a regimented situation can end up as a tool.
Let’s look past that. My take: I have led recruiting for management consultants out of the top business schools; networked with Private Equity investors looking for leadership for start-ups and been exposed to more resumes than I could ever imagine. To be clear: experience like being an Eagle Scout is viewed VERY highly, one step below completing West Point or Annapolis or otherwise serving in the military. As I worked with the HR professionals on recruiting, I was told to look for these explicitly. With kids increasingly approaching employment from a “why aren’t I CEO already?” and “what do you mean I can’t wear pajama bottoms to work?” mindset, individuals who demonstrate the ability to execute are deeply valued.
Could I pick out an Eagle Scout by briefly hanging out with them? Nah, but I have led many teams, and I have to say that the Eagles, and the ex-Military men and women never did less that top-notch work. Made it easy for me to go with the HR training to seek them out.
My $.02
I was celebrating my 10th anniversary at my current job at this point, and I’ve hired several people.
The key is “after we talk about my last job and my skill set.” At this point it is just conversation. It would come up if you listed “First Chair Trumpet in Jazz Band”, “Head Cheerleader”, “Hiked the Appalachian Trail”, or “Own a Harley.”