A Princeton nuclear physicist. A mechanical engineer who helped NASA explore manufacturing in space. A US National Institutes of Health neurobiologist. Celebrated mathematicians. And over half a dozen AI experts. The list of research talent leaving the US to work in China is glittering – and growing.

A Princeton nuclear physicist. A mechanical engineer who helped NASA explore manufacturing in space. A US National Institutes of Health neurobiologist. Celebrated mathematicians. And over half a dozen AI experts. The list of research talent leaving the US to work in China is glittering – and growing.

  • sifar@lemmy.mlEnglish
    41·
    1 day ago

    This is relevant for immigrants who are trying to escape poverty, almost with no future in their own countries either for their personal or professional aspirations. I am not a China fan, but when you look at countries around the world, many of which are very poor and underdeveloped but with lots of brilliant, hard-working people with dreams and potential, they would rather go to a place where they have at least some stability, predicted living and working conditions, and a future, rather than to a place where one doesn’t know whether the potential future mayor of New York City, born and brought up in the USA and hence of course a citizen who happens to be the son of a world-famous filmmaker and a well-known academic, will actually be deported or not. I mean that’s a real possibility at this point - let that sink in. (I am not even going for more extreme examples)

    I wish things were better, and I wish we didn’t live in a world where China, yes, China – of all the countries, might become a viable alternative for people from the developing or underdeveloped world compared to the USA.

    • jaschen306@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      15 hours ago

      The dude is brainwashed by TikTok. As a person who’s family has a factory in china, it’s a terrible place to live.

    • Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      Yeah, but there are other and much better places to go than China. The world doesn’t consist of only the US and China.

      • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        22·
        20 hours ago

        The money, however, is in the US and China. You’ll have a better life on average in Europe, but if you’re super aspirational about your career and total compensation, Europe sucks.

          • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            2·
            18 hours ago

            Trust me. I’m a software engineer in EU. I could make 4-5x as much in the US. The truly high level compmaxers make even more.

            • jaschen306@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              2·
              15 hours ago

              Try asking how much China parts for SWE right now. Then look up what the 996 culture is in China.

              Being the 2nd most riches country doesn’t mean you get paid more for your skills.

              China has the lowest GDP relative to the country’s wealth. They simply exploit their people way more than the USA.

              • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
                3·
                14 hours ago

                There was literally a thread somewhere on the fediverse where someone said their friend (scientist) got invited to China for a 7 figure salary job. That’s not a thing in most countries.

                I know what the 996 culture is. These are also mostly people working in the private sector. This article is more about government-paid people.

                So what country you want to be in depends on whether you’re a researcher (China good, US becoming increasingly shit), software engineer (China bad, US good), etc. But it still holds true that the US and China have the highest salary ceilings if you’re strategic about it. If you’re a scientist here in Estonia, you need to take foreign assignments to make any real money. Otherwise you don’t earn shit, especially before you finish your PhD.