Technology has long had a profound impact on the economy. It boosts productivity by enabling businesses to streamline processes and reduce costs, while increasing output. And it allows businesses to make higher-quality goods and services with fewer resources. This is especially true for capital goods, which include a variety of machinery and equipment used by companies in the production of other products. Examples of capital goods include industrial robots, equipment for manufacturing, and vehicles like trucks and airplanes.
In the past, new technologies helped create new industries and bolstered economic growth. Samuel Slater’s invention of the cotton gin and Eli Whitney’s safe incandescent lamp, for example, led to an increase in textile manufacturing, while Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and Morse Code made communication faster. But rising inequality has focused attention on how the benefits of new technologies are distributed. Do they accrue primarily to inventors, early investors, and skilled users, or to society more broadly as their adoption generates employment growth?
The growth of the technology industry has created unique career opportunities. For those interested in a field that offers a stable income and the chance to work with cutting-edge machines, a career in capital goods may be a good choice. Companies in this field can be found across a wide range of industries, from manufacturing cars to creating semiconductor chips. These companies require specialized skillsets that may be difficult to find in other sectors, and offer the potential to advance quickly.
