Wanna Be A Billionaire So Freakin' Bad?

Finding the Next Einstein
Why smart is relative
by Jonathan Wai
Wanna Be A Billionaire So Freakin' Bad?
Should you be an entertainer, or an engineer?
Published on July 18, 2011 by Jonathan Wai, Ph.D. in Finding the Next

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Bill Gates acknowledged that his kids regularly make fun of him by singing the lyrics of the hit song Billionaire by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars, whose music video has more than 95 million views on YouTube.  This is more than just a bit ironic.  After all, Gates has been on the cover of Forbes magazine and has been smiling next to Oprah and the Queen.
And the key irony is this: Bill was never an entertainer, but a software engineer.

It's not just Bill.  According to the recent Forbes billionaire's list, there are also names like Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Michael Dell, Steve Ballmer, and Mark Zuckerberg, to name a few other tech giants.

There is currently widespread concern that American students are lagging behind the students of other nations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas.  The National Science Board noted that "new, ambitious efforts to cast a wide net in seeking and inspiring tomorrow's STEM leaders are critical."
In addition, the National Academy of Engineering recently published Changing The Conversation: Messages For Improving Public Understanding of Engineering.  In it, they note that one method of encouraging more students to pursue careers in STEM might be pop culture initiatives.

Which brings me to this guy.  His music was recently being blasted by the Pentagon when they graduated their department of defense technology interns.  Here is his music video I Wanna Be An Engineer:

His real name is Baldwin Chiu and he also goes by Only Won.  During the day he works as an engineer.  Then at night he pursues his music career as The Lyrical Engineer.

I asked Chiu whether he thinks music like his can encourage more students to go into STEM fields.

He said that he was surprised to find out that I Wanna Be An Engineer "has become an anthem to folks in the tech world," and that he even received an email from a student who said "As a current engineering student, your video has inspired me not to give up."

Chiu also shared that "I think we need to put the fun back into engineering, math, science...Call me a geek...or maybe even a nerd, but face the facts, we the ones be rulin' this world!"

I'm not sure if this is what the National Academy of Engineering had in mind, but maybe we need more people like him.

Do you think initiatives like this could make math, science, and engineering sexy?

© 2011 by Jonathan Wai