Waah waah waaaahn.
Photo from today’s article in the Times about young sad-faced former bankers. They’ve been laid off, if you can imagine, and are actually saying things like, “People shouldn’t want to work in this industry any more,” and “The new status jobs aren’t at Goldman Sachs. They’re at Google, Apple, and Facebook.”
I suppose they’re too young to remember the last market bust which was tied to over-speculation in the technology sphere — specifically online ventures. Now everyone’s rushing back there to Tumblr, Spotify, Get Glue, Foursquare, Twitter because those are sexy and expanding and, most importantly, hiring. However most, if not all, haven’t figured out how to monetize their sexy-ass product. These new online services keep popping up to fill needs that don’t exist.
Need something to organize ALL those cat/baby/ghost-riding the lawnmower videos your friends send, tweet, FB at you? There’s a product for that.
You know how when you’re feeling lazy and just want a deep ass-sit with a bag of wine, but still have a craven desire to “check in” somewhere and you’ve already “checked in” to your own goddamned house? Well, you can “check in” to a TV show and let all your follower know what a mossy couch-dweller you really are. Super!
Don’t cry, Wall Street Drones — the guys mentioned above are hiring.
What this really makes me think of is the moment in the new-ish film Margin Call when Zachary Quinto (the intensity of those brows! ME-ow.) says to one of the overlords who doubts his analytical skills that yes, he studied rocket science at university but he didn’t pursue it because the check this firm was offering was too tempting to turn down.
I thought, “Really? Would someone with a degree in rocket science really decide to head into the reptilian world of wall street?”
Highly doubtful, but makes the point that people who shouldn’t be in the finance game are suckered in. They give up their actual true passions and interests and desires and lives because the cash is too much to turn down. The under-30s in this Times article are whispering the same conclusion that Michael Lewis came to in Liar’s Poker 20 years ago — “They shouldn’t have hired me. I’m not wrong for this job, but I’m certainly not right for it.”
I’m not saying don’t create some dope new app or cat-fart-video sharing platform. Lord knows that last one will fill a need I certainly have. I’m saying you don’t become Ricky Van Veen without actually being funny and smart and web-savvy. So if you’re funny and smart, but not web-savvy, maybe just go try being a writer or something?
(via nytimes)
