Elon Musk’s career advice every student should hear

Elon Musk has some career advice for those who are in school. So, we have all heard it: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is killing coding and many high-paying careers. That has left several students, and parents, worried about the future.Now, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has also joined the conversation.

Telegram CEO’s suggestion
It started when Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov told students to focus on Maths. In a social media post, he wrote, “If you are a student choosing what to focus on, pick MATH.”

He further explained his comment, saying Maths teaches us to relentlessly rely on our own brain, think logically, break down problems, and solve them step by step in the right order. Durov said that is the core skill youngsters will need to build companies and manage projects.Elon Musk, who runs companies such as Tesla, xAI and SpaceX, replied to the post saying “Physics (with Maths).”Durov agreed with Musk’s statement and added, “If you are already strong in maths, it is worth exploring physics and computer science, both are excellent ways to apply maths in the real world, sharpen your logical and critical thinking and solve important problems.”

Musk’s “Physics framework”
This is not the first time Musk has batted for Physics. He has been a proponent of a problem-solving approach popularly known as “First principles thinking.” This approach involves breaking down complex issues into their most basic, fundamental truths, and then reasoning up from there. In fact, when he hit the cost roadblock while trying to purchase a rocket for SpaceX, he used the same approach. “I tend to approach things from a physics framework,” Musk said in an interview.

He added, “Physics teaches you to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. So I said, okay, let us look at the first principles. What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminium alloys, plus some titanium, copper, and carbon fibre. Then I asked, what is the value of those materials on the commodity market? It turned out that the materials cost of a rocket was around two percent of the typical price.”

Message for school students
While earlier Musk had underlined the significance of Physics in a business context, now he is emphasising the same from a career-building perspective. So, what should you, a grade 9 or 11 student in India, take away from this?The answer is: in a world where AI will do the routine work, the next set of leaders and winners will be people who can think clearly, break down tough problems, and create solutions from first principles.

How to beat AI

So, if you are in grade 9 or 10, you should strive to get really good at Math. That will help you sharpen your logic. But, at the same time, as Musk says, you should also fall in love with Physics. Because Physics makes you ask why and how about everything.

Once you are in grade 11, you should choose PCM, that is Physics, Chemistry, Math. This combination will make you future-proof. You will be valuable no matter what technology comes next.

The bottom line on Musk’s advice: you should be the person who mixes the logic of math with the real-world thinking of physics. That is the superpower even AI cannot replace.