One thing that won't change is the amount of strain that accompanies a job in baseball. "It's not for everybody," DePodesta admits. "As it turns out, it's what I want to do, but you have to understand the reality of the position. You have to realize the unbelievable amount of work involved and the level of commitment you have to have, or you'll be miserable."

So once you've resigned yourself to even less sleep and more stress than you experienced at Harvard, how do you go about breaking into the biz?

"Get your name out there," Forst recommends. "Do whatever you can to get your name out. A Harvard degree will always get at least some attention, but after that, you've got to stay motivated. You've got to be willing to make the phone calls."

DePodesta's advice similarly reflects his own experience.

"You have to be willing to take anything that's out there," DePodesta adds. "You can't worry about pay, position, anything. I remember when I got my first internship, and they told me I'd be working 60 hours a week. I thought to myself, 'You've gotta be kidding me!' But that's the way it is here. To work 300 straight days, from nine in the morning to midnight, from February on, you have to have a passion."