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Comment by sfpotter | Hacker News Reader

These guys are full of shit. Tech isn't cool. People pretend that tech is cool because they want money. That's all there is to it. People who understand this aren't going to let on that they understand it, and people who don't understand it are going to get taken advantage of unless they're useful to people who are in charge.

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Tech is cool. Meaning that tech is now an attractive alternative for status-seeking conformists looking to make a bunch of money.

Parents at a college graduation party will now say "oh wow, that's great" when a graduate says they are joining a tech company instead of thinking it's a wild choice.

Coolness: the thing defined by what parents say at graduation parties.

For conformists, yes! That was the point!

Are we conflating “cool” with “high status”?

I really don’t think they’re the same thing, even for a type-A MBA grad. They know that living in a warehouse and making art is cool, they’d just rather make money and have a socially-acceptable profession.

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening?"

"Yes, sir. Yes I am."

"Plastics."

Niche reference.

I so much want to know more. What should I be googling for?

"The Graduate 1967"

https://youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk

Tech has been a solid career choice for 15+ years, even longer I would say. I imagine people in the 80s and 90s foresaw computing and networking revolutionizing the future.

Bill Gates was very famously the richest guy in the world in the 90s from tech, no?

IBM tech, MSFT tech, but not startup tech.

“Tech” is cool bc “Tech” == easy money in many peoples’ minds.

Tech is now called “Deep Tech” (because of word dilution/arrogation) and while it has never been cool it has always been IMHO fun.

Coolness hasn’t really been defined so it’s different to have a useful discussion about it.

There is more awareness of tech companies today because of their penetration and contributions to media and culture. I guess that kind of awareness makes them “cool”.

Could you elaborate? Surely you aren’t saying technological advances aren’t cool, cause they’ve been pretty popular the last 120 years. For example, ChatGPT - regardless of perfection or ethics, it seems pretty unambiguous cool.

Also, personally, I think ChatGPT is uncool.

If you have to ask, you’ll never know.

If you’re downvoting my post instead of upvoting it you’re definitely a conformist.

I'm happy for you that you're better attuned to what is & isn't cool than the rest of us.

Me too!

“Tech”, as in social media company, isn’t cool. It’s mostly CRUD at scale, and the core product is a social ill.

Fighter jets and super cars are cool, but they aren’t considered “tech” for some reason.

The former pays way more than the latter. But yeah, it’s not “cool” or even really respected outside of software engineering circles (who know the salary range). Doctors and lawyers command more cool factor and respect, even if they’re earning less than FAANG employees.

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