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All the smart people in the US work in tech and finance. If you have a big ole' brain, why would you take $80k to work in some crumby lab when you can get paid

All the smart people in the US work in tech and finance. If you have a big ole' brain, why would you take $80k to work in some crumby lab when you can get paid $350k to maintain a login screen from the comfort of your mountain side home.

dragonwriter 3y ago
Because “smart” and “monomaniacally focused on financial gain” are two separate things?
- nonethewiser 3y ago
  What is monomaniacally focused about maintaining a login page for $350k?
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    Choosing the $350K job isn't necessarily monomaniacally focussed on money, there's plenty of combinations of priorities that would favor that. But when you don't assume all smart developers are monomaniacally focussed on money, there’s also plenty of combinations of priorities that might favor an $80K lab job over the $350K login screen job.
- kevinventullo 3y ago
  As an academic mathematician-turned-software engineer, I can assure you my reasons for leaving academia were not a “monomaniacal focus on financial gain”. The money and job security didn’t hurt, but the real turning point for me was solving the two-body problem.
bluGill 3y ago
When you work in a lab you have more ability to work on what you want to. Well at least once you get to the top of the lab - many spend a lifetime working on the interesting problems someone else is interested in but never reach the top where they are in charge. Meanwhile many people who work in tech are able to work on problems they find interesting enough (maybe not the most interesting, but still interesting) and they get paid well for it. Still if you want to work on some problems a lab is the best change to get there.
- Workaccount2 3y ago
  Sure if you have a huge drive to work on science directly. But the fact of that matter is that many people would rather work on something they find interesting enough, while also being able to comfortably afford a good life for themselves and their family.
fragmede 3y ago
Because there's more to life than money. For King and Country.
- pnut 3y ago
  "King" and "Country" sound like paying taxes and dying in a war for profit, i.e., someone else's priorities, no thanks. Betterment of human existence, preservation of habitable environment, etc, those are bigger than the self.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    It's a saying referring to having pride in the nation you live in. Make your country's status in the world just a tiny bit higher. Win a Nobel Prize for your country. Win the Olympics for your country. The US is not big on collectivism and that's okay. Other countries do things differently.

dragonwriter 3y ago

Because “smart” and “monomaniacally focused on financial gain” are two separate things?

nonethewiser 3y ago
What is monomaniacally focused about maintaining a login page for $350k?
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  Choosing the $350K job isn't necessarily monomaniacally focussed on money, there's plenty of combinations of priorities that would favor that. But when you don't assume all smart developers are monomaniacally focussed on money, there’s also plenty of combinations of priorities that might favor an $80K lab job over the $350K login screen job.
kevinventullo 3y ago
As an academic mathematician-turned-software engineer, I can assure you my reasons for leaving academia were not a “monomaniacal focus on financial gain”. The money and job security didn’t hurt, but the real turning point for me was solving the two-body problem.

bluGill 3y ago

When you work in a lab you have more ability to work on what you want to. Well at least once you get to the top of the lab - many spend a lifetime working on the interesting problems someone else is interested in but never reach the top where they are in charge. Meanwhile many people who work in tech are able to work on problems they find interesting enough (maybe not the most interesting, but still interesting) and they get paid well for it. Still if you want to work on some problems a lab is the best change to get there.

Workaccount2 3y ago
Sure if you have a huge drive to work on science directly. But the fact of that matter is that many people would rather work on something they find interesting enough, while also being able to comfortably afford a good life for themselves and their family.

fragmede 3y ago

Because there's more to life than money. For King and Country.

pnut 3y ago
"King" and "Country" sound like paying taxes and dying in a war for profit, i.e., someone else's priorities, no thanks. Betterment of human existence, preservation of habitable environment, etc, those are bigger than the self.
- fragmede 3y ago
  It's a saying referring to having pride in the nation you live in. Make your country's status in the world just a tiny bit higher. Win a Nobel Prize for your country. Win the Olympics for your country. The US is not big on collectivism and that's okay. Other countries do things differently.