Close Menu
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

What's On

iPhone 17 Pro Tipped to Feature L-Shaped Steel-Enclosed Battery With Different Designs for China, US Markets

4 August 2025

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2025: Best Discounts on Laptops From Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo Under Rs. 60,000

4 August 2025

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale: Top Deals on Gaming Laptops from Asus, HP, and Lenovo Under Rs. 1 Lakh

4 August 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Just In
  • iPhone 17 Pro Tipped to Feature L-Shaped Steel-Enclosed Battery With Different Designs for China, US Markets
  • Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2025: Best Discounts on Laptops From Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo Under Rs. 60,000
  • Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale: Top Deals on Gaming Laptops from Asus, HP, and Lenovo Under Rs. 1 Lakh
  • The Nintendo Switch 2’s Biggest Problem Is Already Storage
  • Efforts to Ground Physics in Math Are Opening the Secrets of Time
  • What Happens to Your Data If You Stop Paying for Cloud Storage?
  • How to Clean Your Mattress
  • Gear News of the Week: Insta360 Debuts a Drone Company, and DJI Surprises With an 8K 360 Camera
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release
Subscribe
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
Home » To Make an Impact, Join Tech’s Exodus
News

To Make an Impact, Join Tech’s Exodus

News RoomBy News Room8 January 20244 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

The gulf between tech and government is legendary. In the 2010s, tech talent flocked to startups and big platforms where they could move fast, break things, and get people to click on ads. Venture capital flowed freely as firms jumped further and faster to stake a claim in businesses that prized user acquisition above all else. With the exception of a handful of firms, the single easiest way to NOT get funded during those boom years was to list government as a market in your pitch deck. Too slow, too uncertain, too irrational.

By 2024, tech’s distaste for government will have transformed into a healthy appetite. Talent has already made that shift. Thousands of engineers, product managers, user researchers, and data scientists have been flocking to government tech job fairs. Execs have been taking leadership key roles at agencies. Layoffs in the tech sector will get the credit for much of this migration, but a closer look at where these people are going suggests that desire for impact is the key driver.

Technologists shocked at the nation’s Covid response have joined the US Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC). Desire to help Ukraine and prevent a showdown in Taiwan has attracted talent to the US State Department and the military. In states that have authorized paid family leave, computer engineers are raising their hands to help implement these programs. Many are looking back at their careers and wishing for something more meaningful.

Institutions are shifting as well. Venture capital is already pivoting to much greater collaboration with government, focusing on problems typically addressed by governments—health care, defense, supply chains—which require larger capital commitments, longer time-horizons, and more public-private collaboration. In the US, we won’t follow the Chinese model, where the government explicitly directs where capital can and cannot go. Instead, the government acts as a signal, shining a light on areas of priority and increasingly providing incentives to tackle those areas, as it did with Operation Warp Speed during the pandemic, and which it continues to do through the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

The role of strategic government funding in the rise of new technologies is often ignored or conveniently forgotten. Tesla (no less than the failed Solyndra) received massive government loan guarantees; SpaceX would never have succeeded without NASA’s strategic customer commitments. Google began with a “digital libraries” grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and NSF, the public health standards body. And of course, without GPS, which was developed with government backing, there would be no Google Maps, no Uber or Lyft, and none of the real-time tracking so essential to modern logistics. Investors are coming to realize that treating the government as a partner, a coinvestor, and a market is a winning strategy.

Government work is hard but rewarding. Despite the stereotype of Marge Simpson’s sisters working slowly and unhelpfully at the DMV, government is full of mission-driven people working purposefully to solve enormous problems, at enormous scale. This is catnip for developers, designers, and product managers who miss the days when the tech industry was similarly idealistic and dreaming of impact, not just a big payday. Back in 2011, pioneering Facebook data scientist Jeff Hammerbacher made the observation that “the best minds of my generation are working on getting people to click on ads. That sucks.” Tens of thousands of others have since come to the same conclusion.

This pivot is coming just in time. The solutions to the world’s great problems demand our ingenuity. Many will choose to work to solve those problems in the private sector, at startups or tech giants. But many more have come to realize that some of the biggest opportunities for impact at scale can be found by working with or for the government.

WIRED has teamed up with Jobbio to create WIRED Hired, a dedicated career marketplace for WIRED readers. Companies who want to advertise their jobs can visit WIRED Hired to post open roles, while anyone can search and apply for thousands of career opportunities. Jobbio is not involved with this story or any editorial content.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleHisense shows off massively bright 98- and 100-inch mini-LED TVs
Next Article TCL goes all-in on Dolby Atmos with its first 7.1.4-channel soundbar

Related Articles

News

The Nintendo Switch 2’s Biggest Problem Is Already Storage

3 August 2025
News

Efforts to Ground Physics in Math Are Opening the Secrets of Time

3 August 2025
News

What Happens to Your Data If You Stop Paying for Cloud Storage?

3 August 2025
News

How to Clean Your Mattress

3 August 2025
News

Gear News of the Week: Insta360 Debuts a Drone Company, and DJI Surprises With an 8K 360 Camera

2 August 2025
News

Peacock Feathers Are Stunning. They Can Also Emit Laser Beams

2 August 2025
Demo
Top Articles

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 2024104 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views

Oppo Reno 14, Reno 14 Pro India Launch Timeline and Colourways Leaked

27 May 202582 Views

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Latest News
News

What Happens to Your Data If You Stop Paying for Cloud Storage?

News Room3 August 2025
News

How to Clean Your Mattress

News Room3 August 2025
News

Gear News of the Week: Insta360 Debuts a Drone Company, and DJI Surprises With an 8K 360 Camera

News Room2 August 2025
Most Popular

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

13 January 2025129 Views

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 2024104 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views
Our Picks

The Nintendo Switch 2’s Biggest Problem Is Already Storage

3 August 2025

Efforts to Ground Physics in Math Are Opening the Secrets of Time

3 August 2025

What Happens to Your Data If You Stop Paying for Cloud Storage?

3 August 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Best in Technology. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.