For years, America's most talented and highly educated college graduates headed to Wall Street in search of derivatives-funded riches. But ever since the crash of 2008, more and more Ivy League educated young people see themselves as the next Mark Zuckerberg rather than the next Lloyd Blankfein, writes Gabriel Sherman in New York magazine this week.
"If you're a smart Ph.D. from MIT, you'd never go to Wall Street now," a hedge fund exec tells New York. "You'd go to Silicon Valley. There's at least a prospect for a huge gain." In tech, salaries are rising and companies can't hire engineers fast enough. Wall Street, by contrast, has shed thousands of jobs and reduced bonuses of its employees.
Then there's the prestige factor, BetaBeat writes. For many, bankers are no longer seen as the "masters of the universe," as Tom Wolfe once called them. Rather, they're all too fallible money men who brought the world's economy to the brink of catastrophe. Wall Street just isn't that cool anymore.
Tech, on the other hand, has billions of dollars flowing into it from venture capital investors, and if you play your cards right, you could end up as Time's Person of the Year, or at least a reality TV star.
Changing of the Guard (AllThingsD)
Yahoo has shed four directors, including chairman Roy Bostock who famously fired Chief Executive Carol Bartz over the phone this fall. It's part of a new direction forward for the struggling Internet company and new CEO Scott Thompson.
Cheesy Jobs (WisBusiness)
Atlanta-based healthcare software company Connecture, Inc. plans to move its headquarters to Waukesha, Wis., and and hire 100 software developers, quality assurance analysts and business managers.
Guinea Pigs (CBS Seattle)
Google is testing 252 mystery devices in the homes of employees, according to a license application filed with the Federal Communications Commission. Talk about eating your own dog food.
Expensive Paintings (Bits)
Graffiti artist David Choe says the stock that Facebook gave him for painting murals in 2005 is now worth $500 million, not the paltry $200 million that was first reported. It's unclear how much of that stock Choe still holds.
Big Blow (WSJ)
Oil service giant Halliburton is replacing the 4,500 BlackBerrys used by its employees with iPhones. If the staid contractor is going sleek, it shouldn't be too much more trouble convincing your bosses to do the same.
Tongue Tied (WSJ)
If you find it hard to speak up and voice your opinion at company meetings, it probably just means you have a high IQ. But that doesn't lessen the potential negative impact on your career, so consider pairing up with someone who's more outgoing.
Changing Scene (Reuters)
Israel's tech economy is known for its expertise in semiconductors, but a sexier industry is also emerging. Video game and digital start-ups are creating an environment where engineers and artists work together.
Tech's Glow (WSJ)
Silicon Valley's economy and job market is recovering faster than the rest of the country. The region added 42,000 jobs last year, bringing total employment back to the pre-recession days of 2006 and 2007. Still, the good times haven't trickled down to the area's less educated workforce.
Heading East (AllThingsD)
Finnish phone maker Nokia is cutting 4,000 jobs at manufacturing plants in Hungary, Mexico and its native Finland. The company plans to shift more of its production to Asia, as have many electronics makers in the last decade.
Buzz Around the Office
Police in Melbourne, Australia, try to catch a nanny goat.
List of the Day: Does Your Boss Hate You?
Here are some signs.
1. You're left out of key meetings.
2. They refuse to make eye contact.
3. They second-guess everything you do.
(Source: Boston.com)
