If you were financially independent in your 20s, would you be in tech?

Do you mean bio-tech, geo-tech, fin-tech, climate-tech ... etc ?

I wouldn't choose computers + software as my tech. There are far more and greater opportunities in broader domains. Currently I'm dabbling with under-water robotics.

No. The social status associated with it is very low. I’d pursue another career with higher social status or just stop working altogether and try to find something that would elevate my social status. Being financially independent is surprisingly low social status.

I know cause I’ve been doing the FIRE thing for about 2.5 years (starting in my early 30s) and I get shit on it all the time. It’s nuts.

Yes. But I would be doing what I thought is meaningful (AI research). Didn't have that opportunity until retirement.

Maybe in some capacity at my leisure. Not anything that would leave me with a bunch of obligations or stress.

“Would you have a job in your 20s if you did not need a job in your 20s?” is an incredible question

Yes, but I'd be spending more time working on open source projects I care about.

Perhaps it's unfair to do this but as a 63 year old, I was financially independent in my 20s and I was in tech. I guess you meant "wealthy beyond your wildest dreams" rather than "able to earn more money than you spent, and so actually make headway on the ridiculously small mortgage which was a far smaller fraction of my net worth, than for a 20yo today looking at entering the housing market" or something.

I know some HNW people, some are nice, some are nasty. Some are lazy, some are amazingly productive. Some are in tech. Some are in arts. Some are spending their wealth on charity. Overall, I don't think being financially independent determines the best course, it's very subjective.

The best outcome for all of us, is to stop people being capable of being obscenely rich. I expect to get downvoted for that, but having thousands of multiples of net worth beyond the people around you is fundamentally a-social. The upside of job creation is massively offset by the other outcomes of the inequality.