What's funny is this changes for men.

In high school it's the athlete. Ideally in a popular sport (basketball, football, baseball) and a important position (QB is top dog).

In college it's social capital - aka being in a top fraternity, even moreso if you are a leader in it. Dont even have to be athletic or good looking, if you're in the right fraternity at a big state school can date out of your league. Obviously athletes as well but much smaller pool at a big school.

After college it's money and career. This doesnt mean if you're a lawyer or doctor all of a sudden you kick ass with women. But it's the primary grading scale, along with your hobbies, looks, etc.


What underlies this all is status. It's what is cared about the most. So you will see guys go from chad to loser, or vice versa, based on a number of things because how they are valued changes. Meanwhile women are always valued on looks, there is no change to the scoring system there.

The good news is that competition in the looks department becomes cake in your late 20s and beyond. While having a decent career becomes table stakes, if you go to the gym 4-5x a week and are in good shape you stand out well beyond the crowd. 20s are definitely the time to find yourself and self improve, but the bar to become a 'winner' isn't that high - but most men still fail to meet it

you dont need to be CEO 10k a day driving a new BMW. Have above average career, work out regularly, and find an interesting hobby or two instead of rotting on the couch and you will be in a buyers market at 30+

Heading into the second half of my twenties and careermaxxing right now. I can only imagine by 30 if not married to my LTR (which I intend to) I could have a pick of the litter keeping the above quoted in check and expecting to be making 2-3x current comp at that point... sounds like life on easy mode

brutal