Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu 'warns': Smart Indian-Americans, whose parents work in IT, are moving to ... and it is not Good

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has a word of caution for the children of Indian-Americans working in the technology industry. In a post on Twitter, Sridhar Vembu has expressed concern about what he called 'Smart Indian-American children' increasingly pursuing careers in finance, warning of the risks of an economy overly dependent on financial systems. Vembu said that he has observed a growing shift among Indian-American youth, particularly those from engineering or tech backgrounds, towards high finance—echoing a pattern seen in the United States for decades.
Drawing from his own life, he shared how he was once encouraged to join a Wall Street trading team after earning his PhD from Princeton in 1994 but opted for a lower-paying engineering role at Qualcomm instead. "I did not find the idea of making money on money appealing—probably my father's admonition from childhood," he noted.
He expressed concern that educated and talented individuals are increasingly choosing finance over sectors like technology, infrastructure, and healthcare, where their skills could have a more tangible and positive impact on society. "Making money on money feels easy, but a finance-driven economy would destroy society," Vembu cautioned, adding that this is "ancient wisdom" that should not be ignored.

‘Wise advice…’ commented users

The post has garnered significant attention, with many users engaging in discussions about the implications of finance-centric policies on societal well-being. “Basically, the essence of engineering in engineers must not fade. Wise advice ! But for grads with liabilities like 1st house, car, & marriage, how do they prioritize their love for engineering over higher-paying jobs? Not yet in college but would love to know your view,” commented one user.
“Completely agree with the sentiment. Unfortunately solving hard engineering problems doesn’t pay high money. Something we’ll have to look at the incentives and compensation structures and the ecosystem. Ppl shouldn’t find it an aversion as they have to go through hoops to get the resources to work in hard engg problems. Some abundance mindset needed by capital allocators,” said another user.