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> If you're a strong engineer with good quantitative skills, the expected value of working on wall street, working at googazonsoft, or even becoming a realtor in the bay (if you have the soft skills) is much higher than striking out on your own to create something new.

With an essentially zero chance of becoming a billionaire.

If you're driven by the desire to become a billionaire, startups it is.



You have essentially zero chance either way, but I'd guess that more billionaires are finance guys like Warren Buffet, no?


It took Buffet 28 years to go from millionaire to billionaire. I'm not sure that appeals to the folks who are in startups hoping to get rich fast.


He is also a US Senator's son and took advantage of his family's many connections to get his startup capital. He was also born at the right time to take advantage of postwar prosperity.

Without those advantages, it's almost laughable to replicate that career path




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