When competitive classmates push you into high-paying jobs. Together with Professor Claudio Schilter from the University of Bern, Samuel Lüthi and Stefan C. Wolter from the SCCRE show how a so-called ‘non-cognitive’ skill, namely the tendency to compete, influences career choice. Those who were in a more competitive lower secondary school class later choose better paid, more demanding and more sought-after apprenticeships.