Thread by @opinion

Elon Musk opined on a podcast last year that “too many smart people go into finance and law.”

But there’s some good news: For the young graduates going after a career in tech, there’s never been a better time in terms of the potential monetary reward trib.al/fY8tFiQ

Joining a young startup could be a ticket to the next:

❄️Snowflake
🎮Roblox
🏡Airbnb

There’s also a chance to realize that time-honored tech industry cliche: changing the world for the better trib.al/fY8tFiQ

We’ve been able to stay safe and (relatively) sane during the pandemic, thanks to tech companies providing:

📦E-commerce and food-delivery apps
💻Videoconferencing tools
🎮Streaming services and video games trib.al/fY8tFiQ

Most importantly, the rapid development of effective Covid-19 vaccines using new technology like mRNA saved lives and put us on the path to recovery.

All that’s laid the foundation for further progress trib.al/fY8tFiQ

The focus on building digital services to cope with Covid-19 has led to significant advances in key technologies such as:

☁️Cloud computing
🤖Artificial intelligence
📱Semiconductors

That will enable the next wave of innovation trib.al/fY8tFiQ

Investors are stepping up as well: Nearly $73 billion was invested in growth-stage North American startups during the March quarter, double the prior year.

There may never have been an easier or more fortuitous time to start a new technology company trib.al/fY8tFiQ

The tech industry is also going after thorny problems.

With its $20 billion purchase of Nuance, Microsoft is looking to apply the voice-recognition pioneer’s early success in using AI to unburden doctors from administrative paperwork to other industries trib.al/fY8tFiQ

Fortnite maker Epic Games raised $1 billion to help bring about something straight out of science fiction novels.

The funds will go toward its goal of building the “Metaverse,” where people can play and socialize with one another in virtual worlds trib.al/fY8tFiQ

Meanwhile, Apple said it plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on the development of advanced semiconductors and 5G wireless technologies over the next five years trib.al/fY8tFiQ

Technological progress can have downsides. There have been ethical hurdles with:

👤The use of facial recognition against minority groups
📢Algorithms that amplify polarizing content

Not all companies will succeed in their lofty aspirations, either trib.al/fY8tFiQ

But @firstadopter is optimistic there will be breakthroughs that benefit society.

With the increasing inflow of talent and large amounts of capital going after such exciting ideas, we may be on the brink of a golden age for innovation trib.al/fY8tFiQ