
More Kids Want to Be YouTubers Than Astronauts Because Obviously - kylesellas
https://ffwd.medium.com/more-kids-want-to-be-youtubers-than-astronauts-because-obviously-390fc0957053
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supernintendo
This article makes a number of suppositions without really critically
exploring those claims. Some questions I have after reading this:

1\. How does this compare to historical trends in the US? Did more kids in the
80s want to be rock stars or Hollywood actors, for example.

2\. How is the author establishing a relationship between occupational
earnings and the ambition of young people? Do we know that this is even a
significant factor or could there be other motivations (popular culture
placing more value on Internet celebrities than scientists, for example).

3\. What other variance is at play in the country data? You can’t rule out
differences in the US and Chinese education systems, for example. There are
many sociological and technological factors you need to parse here.

4\. How much does this even matter? “What do you want to be when you grow up”
is a question most of us have been asked at some point but how many of us
stuck to those dreams? Further, there may be an argument for having a
diversity of skills and experiences that is often limited by rigid educational
and career paths. Some of the best software developers I have worked with have
been musicians and artists.

All that said, I think it would be great if becoming an astronaut had the same
or more appeal to young people as social media fame. I’ll also say that it’s
never too late (look at Richard Garriott who took a break from designing video
games to become a citizen astronaut). One of my life goals is to go to space
before I die and I think it’s a real possibility.

~~~
matt_s
> 4\. How much does this even matter?

It could matter a lot of a kid is motivated enough. They could start _now_ and
at the very least end up developing skills like video editing, publishing,
maybe even coding or a deeper understanding of computing.

It might develop an entrepreneurial spirit which could be a real difference
maker in their life vs. the path towards astronaut or lawyer or doctor
(careers which take a lot of schooling).

If you compare the dream of becoming a YouTuber to rockstar or sports athlete,
I can see the path to YouTuber having more transferable skills come out of it
than the other paths even if they never achieve the dream.

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x2f10
Being around kids, I can tell you this has nothing to do with earnings.
YouTube 'stars' are seen as celebrities for these children. It's not uncommon
for a child to want to be a celebrity. That, coupled with the fact that
society at large no longer idolizes astronauts - or even speak much about
them, sadly.

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microtherion
That seems true for all the occupations in this list except "teacher", which
in the US is a thankless, disrespected, and underpaid occupation.

~~~
thowthisaway
you can thank the teacher's union for that bit of gem

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microtherion
While I'm not enthusiastic about YouTuber as a career choice, Astronaut
nowadays is a singularly poor career ambition:

* Extremely high qualifications needed

* Minuscule chance of making it through the selection process

* Job is endless dealing with bureaucracy and the ever changing whims of governments, or, in the private sector, of narcissistic plutocrats.

* At best, you go on a handful of space missions in your entire career.

* And the work you get to perform on those missions is roughly the scientific equivalent of lighting a fart in space.

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okmokmz
Same topic from a week ago

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20459075](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20459075)

[https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/american-kids-
would-...](https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/american-kids-would-much-
rather-be-youtubers-than-astronauts/)

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NathanKP
To be honest a kid who wants to be a YouTube star has a much higher chance of
success at their dream than a kid who wants to be an astronaut.

~~~
grenoire
Arguably, the skills acquired while working towards becoming an astronaut are
much more valuable than the ones you could as a YouTuber. Video and audio
editing might come in handy, but you will likely not end up getting a job.

~~~
ap3
Video and audio editing are a small part of being a YouTuber

Creating content for millions of viewers, having the pulse of what a large
audience wants, the right personality, etc go much farther

And I think those skills can translate over to our connected world

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julius_set
I’m hoping one day we can be done with this money obsession. To live in the
Star Trek Next Generation universe would be a dream come true.

~~~
ecolonsmak
be the change you want to see.

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ericmcer
Would you rather be a youtuber than an astronaut? I know I would. If you
succeed you are pretty much being paid an insane amount to be mediocre at your
passion.

Regardless of your age, we are a selfish society, and from a selfish
perspective, youtuber is the obvious choice.

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Snd_
In a world where money means everything such a paradigm shift is self
explanatory.

~~~
Junk_Collector
Money doesn't even figure in my opinion. When was the last time that
astronauts were on TV? A major broadcast? When's the next planned mission that
people care about? Astronaut is possibly the most elite and difficult to
obtain profession in the world but most of that elite selected minority
doesn't even make it into space. Over most of my life you couldn't even dream
of being an astronaut because the position was full and they weren't holding
candidate trials. They just aren't relevant in most kids lives except as a
vague abstract concept on the periphery.

