ICOT, in this world, and in the near future, science and math will be the most essential to make a parnasa. For years people relied on the stock market and thought it was a magic faucet which rained down money. Now they realize that many of the big players are out of work, simply because it is no different than betting on horses. What value have all these people in the market added? Very little, at the end of the day. They probably helped some new companies get started by buying a percentage of newly issued stock, and assisting with IPO’s, but most is pure betting.
Think about it: when a farmer plants seeds that cost 1 dollar and after hard work, he can sell produce for 100 dollars, he has created wealth. He has added value to the seeds, and can rightfully claim a portion. The baker who buys his wheat, and bakes a cake, has also added value, and can claim a portion. This is how moey is made. Or in manufacturing, a scientist figures out a new principle or way to cure a disease. he sells to a drug company, the drug company buys raw ingredients and chemicals, and uses these to make medicine. This is the way you make money, by creating products from less expensive raw ingredients. The scientists and engineers and those who work in the actual production chain are really the backbone of any company.
All these people who think they need not learn technical details, and will just finagle and wheel and deal in what others have invented or created are finding out in today’s economy it just doesn’t cut it. This is why so many of these types are ending up behind bars. Madoff knew there really isn’t magic money in the market, and the only way to get rich quick is to commit fraud.
Because of foreign competition profits are razor thin. The only way to make money is to constantly innovate. Heard from Dr. Judah Folkman A”H that in medicine, there are about 25,000 known diseases. We can cure a few hundred and manage a few hundred more. That leaves about 24,000 with no know cure. If you can cure one, you will have performed great chesed, and also will get paid well.
In Sderot, if you could find a way to shoot down missiles before they land, and blow up the terrorists automatically, you will also have done a great deed, and can make a mint on your anti-terrorism system. In the USA, if you can develop a really workable and cost-effective solar energy system, you will make a ton, and will also reduce the Arabs control over the oil economy and their influence over the world.
All these things require tons of advanced math and science. There are many science jobs out there for people with the right training. In Yeshivas we usually ignore these subjects more than all the others. That is the worst mistake we can make. Algebra, geometry, trig, calc are the aleph bais of the world of advanced technology. Bio, chem and physics will be the most valuable subjects in the future. Kids also need grounding in English as you mention, since companies don’t like to hire illiterate and sloppy people. Social studies is important in understanding how govt works and the history of conflicts between nations and how the economic and legal systems that we use have developed.
When you work for a corporation as an accountant, that is an important skill and service. But that is really indirect as far as the company goes. If you can develop a way for them to make a new product, or make an old one much cheaper, that is how they make their money to pay the accountants. They value this much more, since that is their oxygen. They can’t survive if another company comes out with a better or cheaper product, but they can survive if their accountant leaves, since they can just hire a different one who will do the same thing.
Chiddush is the most important thing, and that requires technology. All the other roles are secondary and replaceable. I am not trying to insult accountants or any other profession, chas vshalom, as the world needs them all, and people have different talents. There are many brilliant accounting experts in the frum world. I am just saying that one’s best chance today is to try to be able to innovate because any fixed, repetitive skill can become obsolete or replaced by other humans or even computers.