Social Mobility
Many people hold unrealistic expectations about social mobility, assuming that higher education is a shortcut. In recent years, this assumption has been challenged by some data. Research once suggested that in Denmark, where class mobility is strong, it takes only two generations to achieve upward mobility. In the United States, the land of the American Dream, it takes an average of five generations. In China, it may take even longer. Don't place too much hope in higher education as a means of social climbing. Upward mobility is a multi-generational endeavor that requires sustained effort and the consistency of several generations avoiding missteps.
The "Discourse on the Faults of Qin" (Guo Qin Lun), which was quoted in its entirety by Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian, is a piece worth reading with deep, repeated attention.