Why is the Tech Industry so Lucrative?
Written by Owen Hu September 23th 2021
It is certainly no secret that the tech industry is one of the most lucrative industries in the world. The “Big Five” tech companies—Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft—are collectively valued at over $3.5 trillion, a higher figure than all but four countries’ economies in the world. These impressive numbers beg the question: what makes the tech industry so lucrative?
There are two main explanations for the profitability of the industry. Firstly, the tech industry yields so much gain due to simple supply and demand. Tech workers are generally highly skilled, making the field extremely competitive for businesses to be able to satisfy their demand for tech workers. In fact, the high pay from tech careers explains why almost 90% of people who change into the industry do so due to money. Furthermore, the tech industry requires heavy specialization and knowledge, making it a difficult field to successfully enter for the inexperienced. Nonetheless, the growing demand for tech workers and a talent shortage make entering the industry an extremely lucrative decision that compels millions of workers.
The second explanation is just as straightforward as the first: the tech industry represents the future. From the creation of the internet to the development of the smartphone, the domination of the tech industry has transformed the way the world operates. Cyberinfrastructure engineering and artificial intelligence research are expected to exert massive influence over the world in the future, and their potential to revolutionize the world incentivizes heavy investment today, thus creating millions of jobs and unprecedented growth. The sheer impact that the tech industry will make in the future makes it profitable and exceptionally attractive to businesses and workers alike.
What highlights the appeal of the tech industry the most is its relentless growth. Even during the pandemic era, when other industries saw their profits plummet, the tech field saw record-breaking profits as sales soared. For example, Apple’s 2021 Q1 profits doubled to $21.7 billion, a staggering number in the face of lockdowns and worldwide economic disruption. When even a global pandemic is unable to stop the persistent advancement of the tech industry, we can confidently conclude that the lucrative field represents the very best of the future.
In conclusion, the high demand for tech workers makes the industry competitive and high-paying. The potential for tech to completely alter the course of the future allows for growth today to make what previously seemed impossible into reality, and the tech industry shows no sign of slowing down its formidable growth any time soon.
Works Cited
Associated Press. “7 Striking Facts about the Money Tech Companies Are Making.” Chicagotribune.com, 28 Apr. 2018, www.chicagotribune.com/business/blue-sky/ct-biz-tech-companies-earnings-20180427-story.html. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.
Devinney, Fran. “What Does the Tech Economy of the Future Look Like? Interesting Perspectives from Industry Experts Including @DXCTechnology and @Lefep’s CTOs and Technologists.” WIRED, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2018, www.wired.com/brandlab/2018/03/dxc-creating-tech-economy-future/.
Liu, Jennifer. “Nine out of 10 Workers Who Change Careers into Tech Say They Wanted More Money—Here’s How Much It Pays Off.” CNBC, 10 Dec. 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/12/10/nine-out-of-10-workers-who-change-careers-into-tech-wanted-more-money.html.
“Tech Giants’ Profits Soar as Pandemic Boom Continues.” BBC News, 27 July 2021, www.bbc.com/news/business-57979268. Accessed 19 Sept. 2021.