When I was young and in school, the mark of grand achievement seemed to be to grow up and get a good job that paid a lot of money. So I worked hard in my math and science classes, thinking that if I could be as smart as possible then I could get the highest-paying job.
As it turns out, hard knowledge of math and science (i.e., “book smarts”) is not the best predictor of earnings. It guarantees a certain earnings “floor.” Usually a very high floor, relative to those without book smarts. However, if two competitors are equal in book smarts, it is the one with a slight edge in social skills that will win a higher paycheck, investment, bonus, etc.
This is because there is always a sale at the end of the line. Money cannot be created like the alchemists tried to turn lead into gold. All the money is already out there and in people’s pockets. Which is why finance attracts book smart quant traders because sometimes math can allow a very talented trader to basically reach in and extract small percentages from very large retirement and pension funds.
Even in finance, however, it is still the guys with the social skills that win. When I worked as an intern at a trading desk on Wall Street, I noticed that the smartest (in terms of book smarts) guys in the room were busy plugging away on algorithms and theories. But the highest-paid guys were the ones who had played the politics game and climbed the ladder, or they were top salespeople who brought in the big fish.
Money is a social invention. There is a certain level of book smarts required to get into the room with a group of successful people. At some point, however, you have to convince a human being to part ways with their money.
That may be in the form of employment. A smart employer might realize how to put your book smarts into play in a business model. So she’ll hire you and she might even pay you a very high salary with bonuses and other compensation. However, she will still control the distribution of earnings (between you and herself) if she plays the role of convincing the investors, clients, patients, customers, etc. to part ways with their money. And if she decides to cut a larger slice of the pie for herself, you can’t talk to the investors, so your only option is to find another job. But if the pay is high enough, you might not want to, so you’ll be stuck. Still not a bad place to be though.