Without giving too many details in order to avoid doxxing myself more than I already have on the grad, I’m an engineering student and have recently gotten an opportunity to get involved in advanced laboratory research projects. This will, in theory, look amazing for grad school, and that graduate degree will, in theory, allow me to move to China fairly quickly and put my talents to use building socialism overseas. Problem is, as somewhat of a flex of their laboratory connections, the department chair informed me that sometimes, the lab does work for Washington DC.
Now, we’re not building missiles or anything, but naturally, I had my apprehensions when this was mentioned. I continued with the interview as though I hadn’t heard it and the opportunity very quickly became a very real offer to work in some high level dream tech. Real sci-fi shit. However, of course, I still have my concerns. I honestly don’t know what the Marxist position is to take on this. Obviously if they ask me to do something horrific, I’m going to decline, but I don’t really know what it could entail.
You’d be hard pressed to find an engineering opportunity in academia that doesn’t have state connections to some degree. Most likely your tuition is directly being invested into these same companies. I think it really depends on what your designing and your willingness to design it. How culpable do you want to be in this yk? How directly do you want your labor to contribute to it.