The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway - Office Hours: Google and Antitrust Legislation, Should I Go To Law School or Follow My Passion? Moving for a Dream Job

Episode Date: December 14, 2022

Scott takes a question about antitrust lawsuits and Google. He then shares his thoughts with a journalism student questioning whether they should go to law school, and ends with advice on prioritizing career opportunities. Music: https://www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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NMLS 1617539. Welcome to the PropG Pod's Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehoursatpropgmedia.com. Again, that's officehoursatpropgmedia.com. Again, that's officehoursatprofgmedia.com. I have not seen or read these questions. First question. Hi, Scott. My name is Adam, and I've been a longtime fan of your work on the Prof G and Pivot podcast. My question for you today is about Google. You've mentioned in the past that Google's advertising network is akin to an internet tax, which I found to be spot on. While I am seeing trends that more

digital advertising is moving to TikTok, Amazon, and Apple, Google still has an enormous monopoly in digital ads and will probably have that monopoly for years to come. Do you think that the U.S. government will make any headway in their lawsuits against Google? I don't see the U.S. government being able to take on Google and really understand how much leverage Google has over the entire marketplace. What do you think will happen here and when? Adam, thanks for the question. I used to get a lot of these questions. I think everyone's just so tired of my rant around antitrust and big tech. Everyone's just a bit exhausted. So let's start off with some basics. Google has a 92% share of search. Imagine if the global auto industry, I don't even, that's, I'm not even sure that's this big. There was one company that had 92%

share. Imagine all of media. Would we be down with that? The answer, 100% is no. And just on an existential level, Google has become our God. You trust Google more than any rabbi, priest, mentor, scholar, or boss. Google knows what STDs you have. It knows if you're thinking about getting engaged or getting divorced. It knows your HIV status. It knows your political leanings. It knows your sexual fetishes. Should 92% of the questions, what is a prayer? A prayer is a query into the universe where you hope that some sort of divine entity that sees everything can process your prayer, your query, and then send back an answer that you trust and provides comfort and guidance. Should one company be responsible for 92% of those answers?

I just think it's dangerous, that uniformity of thought. And here's the other really unique thing about Google and search, and that is the tools are so egalitarian on Google, and this is the genius for their shareholders on their part. There's no way to develop medium, much less long-term advantage with Google. So if you can't develop strategic advantage, if you can't develop competitive advantage, but everybody has to use it because everyone else is using it. It's not a service. It's not a product. It's a tax. And the good folks at Google will say,

well, there are natural monopoly reasons to have one company that has 92% share, that the amount of money they have to invest in R&D, the infrastructure required to ensure safety and give people the types of answers to their queries that they want naturally lends itself to one dominant player. Okay, I buy it. And there's a name for that. A utility. Florida Power and Light doesn't have any competitors because it makes sense to have one utility such that they can get economies of scale and they can build one nuclear reactor, one coal fire plant, or whatever it is they build, and spread that across the 10 or 15 million homes in Florida. So what do we do?

Because they get to dominate, because they're a monopoly, they become a regulated monopoly. We look at their prices. We demand total opacity in terms of their business dealing. So which is it, Google? Which is it? Should there be other competitors such that we have more diversity of thought, more competition? Or does it make sense for one company to have a 90 plus percent market share, which means you're a utility? They should absolutely be broken up.

Having said that, I'm not confident it's going to happen because I've been predicting it's going to happen for five years and it never goddamn does. Why? Because of Citizens United, people can give money, companies can give endless amounts of money to politicians, and it's the ultimate pay. It's the ultimate compensation for a politician. Charles Schumer gets money from big tech, and guess what? He doesn't have to even be seen as an opponent of antitrust. All he has to do is fucking nothing. And oh my gosh, let's throw a fundraiser for good old Senator Schumer in the valley and he can raise a ton of money. And he doesn't have to come out and say he's against antitrust because he knows he'll look like an asshole. He can say,

okay, let's put it in committee. Let's think about it. And that's what's happening here. Big tech has basically totally overrun DC. What has big tech got in exchange for their tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars of bribing these cheap whores in DC? They got a huge ROI. Specifically, what they got was nothing. Thanks for the question, Adam. Question number two. Hi, Mr. Galloway. My name is Ahad Mirza. I'm a 24-year-old college student pursuing journalism. And ever since I discovered you and your content, I've seriously been considering going to law school after graduation.

Journalism has always been a passion of mine. But as you say, don't follow your passion, follow what you're good at. So my question is, should I really be considering something as difficult, stressful, and expensive as law school? When I know a lot of my peers who have known that they wanted to be doctors and lawyers since the age of 10 couldn't get through the schooling and I'm going to be essentially using it as a fallback or a plan B? Ideally, I'd love to use the law degree with journalism in some way, but it'd be nice to have that financial fallback there. Should I stick with what I know I love and make substantially less money rather than risk the loans and the stress

of a field I think I'd be good at but don't necessarily love? Please let me know. Thank you so much. Thanks for the thoughtful question. Let's take the first hill, and that is should you go back to law school? It used to be graduate school was kind of a no-brainer because it was so inexpensive. I got into the Haas School of Business at Berkeley. The tuition was $2,000 a year. Return to college, get a two-year degree that had paid huge dividends my entire life. So getting into graduate school when I was applying in the 90s was sort of a no-brainer to go. Now it's less of a no-brainer because it's gotten so goddamn expensive. So the first thing is, I would suggest you're obviously seriously thinking about it. Apply to several schools. And it's not easy to apply. It's a pain in the ass. But if you're serious, apply to several schools and see where

you get in. Because the corporate world, they're snobs. They're elitists. And where you go to school makes a difference. The difference between Bolt and Hastings, both great law schools, and call it Pepperdine, which is probably, you know, it's a good school but not a great school. There's a difference. And so to go into debt $30,000, $50,000, $100,000, $150,000 to get a law degree from Bolt, I think you can justify that. I think to go into that sort of debt at a tier two law school, I'm not sure you can justify that unless you have wealthy parents or just have the money and it's not that big a deal to you. So the first is where you get in and what your financial situation is. Two, is it a good idea for someone interested in journalism? Absolutely. Law school is a fantastic education.

It's just a shitty career. What do I mean by that? I took classes at Bolt, and I found that critical thinking, the ability to write, being able to break down an issue and argue it and craft a better solution in front of people who evaluate how compelling you are and your ability to string together stories and call on the Constitution and law. I just think it's, I think law school is a fantastic education. It's absolutely the way to go as long as you don't become a lawyer. I think being a lawyer is a shitty job. Now, I'm being very reductive here. There are some lawyers who love their job and, you know, they make a good living. But why do I think it's a shitty job? You're always someone's bitch. How do I use lawyers? When I have really shitty work that requires someone smart and an incredible attention to detail, that is when you call your lawyer. And when I call my lawyer, no joke, I can call the partner at my law firm, which is an esteemed firm that charges me anywhere between $800 and $1,800 an hour. I can call them, no joke, at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, and by 11.30, the partner calls me back. The services business is a very, it's a young person's game. It's an intense business. You learn a lot. It's a great test of your skills. You have to be sort of a triathlete,

but for the most part, it's shitty work that requires someone really smart. I think it's a terrible job or not a great job and a great education. Now, specifically to you, I think someone pursuing journalism that has the benefit of a great legal training a great education. Now, specifically to you, I think someone pursuing journalism that has the benefit of a great legal training and that education, oh my gosh, Ahad, that's gangster. I think of Matt Levine, who was an investment banker and now a journalist. I'm not a journalist, but I'm a media person. And where I add value is I have a pretty hardcore business background. So, I'm able to bring some peanut butter and chocolate. So whether you go to law school, it is a function of your financial situation. And two, having a graduate degree

that complements your journalistic ability is a great peanut butter and chocolate strategy. Thanks for the question, Ahad. We have one quick break before our final question. Stay with us. The Capital Ideas Podcast now features a series hosted by Capital Group CEO, Mike Gitlin. Through the words and experiences of investment professionals, you'll discover what differentiates their investment approach, what learnings have shifted their career trajectories, and how do they find their next great idea. Invest 30 minutes in an episode today. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Published by Capital Client Group, Inc.

Hey, it's Scott Galloway. And on our podcast, Pivot, we are bringing you a special series about the basics of artificial intelligence. We're answering all your questions. What should you use it for? What tools are right for you? And what privacy issues should you ultimately watch out for? And to help us out, we are joined by Kylie Robeson, the senior AI reporter for The Verge, to give you a primer on how to integrate AI into your life. So tune into AI Basics, How and When to Use AI, a special series from Pivot sponsored by AWS, wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome back. Question number three. Hey, Prof G. Thank you for taking my question. I am 23 years old, and I work as a business software consultant in Denver, Colorado. I've been in consulting for nearly two years, and I'm looking to make the jump to industry sometime next year out of a desire for a more fulfilling, hands-on career in product management. I have a good connection at a company in Southern California, and I feel that this may be a perfect job for me. I love the company, the brand, the products, and I feel that I can make a real difference in the world by working there. The problem is, I love living here in Colorado and I feel that this is the perfect place for me. Should I pursue what is potentially a dream job in a place where I feel

may not be as happy or fit in, or should I put where I live first? Hey, Ryan from Colorado. So first off, I hope you take pause, and I didn't do this when I was your age, to just realize how blessed you are. You live in America. You live in what I would argue is one of the greatest states in the greatest country in the world. I love Colorado. It's purple. It's reasonable.

I love Jared Paulus. I love Michael Bennett. I think Denver is an amazing city. I would do predictions deck every year and I pick a city of the year and I'm wondering if Denver, Denver's kind of in my top three. You'll have to tune in to find out.

Anyways, but you're incredibly blessed. Having said that, take the job in SoCal, Ryan. You're at an age where you want to be focused on economic security. And you want to be, you want to let the tail that wags the dog here be professional opportunity. And first off, you're not exactly moving to, you know, Alaska. Not that Alaska isn't lovely. You're not exactly moving to, you know, Worthington, Ohio, where I actually lived for a while. You're moving to Southern California, which a lot of people would kill to live in. Southern California is wonderful. And also your ability to discern where you live when it gets really important, specifically when you have a spouse and kids, is going to be a function of your economic security.

Economic security is a pedantic way of saying options. I get to move to London, which makes no professional success whatsoever because I work my ass off and I move to New York to work for an investment bank. And then I move back to L.A. and then I move to the Bay Area for opportunity. I mean, I kind of wanted to move to these places, but that wasn't what was driving it. It was economic security. You're at a stage in your life where for the next 10 or 20 years, you should be focused on very few things. First and foremost, developing economic security. If the opportunity is in Southern California, then that's where you're headed, my brother. And that might mean if you get that economic security, you'll have the option to live again in Colorado. 23 job offers, Colorado, Southern California.

Ryan, it is good to be Ryan. That's all for this episode. Again, if you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehoursatproptimedia.com. Our producers are Caroline Shagrin, Claire Miller, and Drew Burrows. Sammy Resnick is our associate producer. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. Thank you for listening to the Profiteer Pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network. We will catch you next week. What software do you use at work? The answer to that question is probably more complicated than you want it to be. The average U.S. company

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