Thank you so much for writing this up, Ben! There are many things that ring true to me, being in my 40s. I’d like to add other misconceptions I experienced:
Misconception: EA is only for young people
Reality: Although joining a local group can make you feel as if you’re sticking out age-wise this will change if you join EAG conferences, especially the mid- and late-career meetups there. Conferences are a great place to start meeting people in similar career positions. Also just sending emails to people you are interested in directly often leads to you being able to have a call. The 80k career call is also a good place to get introduced.
Misconception: I will be viewed differently because of my age
Reality: After overcoming my own fear of being judged for my age I found out that EAs are generally welcoming and open. I now find myself joining EA meetings more often than ones with my former peers because of the shared interest and good discussion culture. I neither see myself as being penalized nor having special privileges for being older. For example, job applications seem very standardized and fair.
Misconception: Working for an EA org means moving if I’m not in an existing hub
Reality: While some organisations want to have staff on the ground, others are fully or partially remote. With more co-working spaces popping up it may even be possible to join EAs in your city while working remotely for an EA org in your specialist area.
Misconception: EA orgs are small and mainly need specialists
Reality: While many EA orgs have 5 or fewer employees more and more are getting funding to scale up. This means there is more demand for knowledge around organisation building and scaling as well as additional support staff roles. At EAG London I heard about jobs that hadn’t been published yet and was able to apply. Prior to the conference, I hadn’t even considered these roles as operation roles seemed very limited in scope.
Misconception: I can do more good by earning to give
Reality: This is really hard to evaluate but after talking to some experienced people at EAG I suspect there are still many people who undervalue their potential for direct work. With new organisations scaling up and the need for bigger projects (“megaprojects”) wanted by funders not being met, I think we’re seeing a skill gap, especially in entrepreneurship and management. Some people should forgo their current income in order to take jobs that funders are very willing to pay.
Some things that come to mind that might help mid-career people:
Meetings/Calls with people that were in similar situations and are now working in EA-aligned jobs
Possibilities to explore EA-work while taking a sabbatical, e.g. by doing research projects in an EA hub, joining an 80k career group for people of the same age, doing skilled volunteering
Writeups of more success stories of mid-career people changing jobs
Talks from mid-career people in EA-jobs at EA job place groups
Retreats for mid-career people interested in switching with speakers that have done the transition
More volunteering opportunities that enable getting to know organisations
I hope to be able to contribute to getting more mid-career people into direct EA work and have offered High Impact Professionals to support them in that area. Additionally, I’m also always happy to chat with people about this and to make introductions.
I meant staying for some time in a location where many other EAs are (like the Bay Area, Oxford, London) and working on a research project from there. This could combine the exchange with other people with self-study and deep thinking.
>joining an 80k career group for people of the same age
I would like to have a group of mid-career professionals that are all taking the 8-week 80k career course where we can encourage each other and can discuss questions that come up.
Thank you so much for writing this up, Ben! There are many things that ring true to me, being in my 40s. I’d like to add other misconceptions I experienced:
Misconception: EA is only for young people
Reality: Although joining a local group can make you feel as if you’re sticking out age-wise this will change if you join EAG conferences, especially the mid- and late-career meetups there. Conferences are a great place to start meeting people in similar career positions. Also just sending emails to people you are interested in directly often leads to you being able to have a call. The 80k career call is also a good place to get introduced.
Misconception: I will be viewed differently because of my age
Reality: After overcoming my own fear of being judged for my age I found out that EAs are generally welcoming and open. I now find myself joining EA meetings more often than ones with my former peers because of the shared interest and good discussion culture. I neither see myself as being penalized nor having special privileges for being older. For example, job applications seem very standardized and fair.
Misconception: Working for an EA org means moving if I’m not in an existing hub
Reality: While some organisations want to have staff on the ground, others are fully or partially remote. With more co-working spaces popping up it may even be possible to join EAs in your city while working remotely for an EA org in your specialist area.
Misconception: EA orgs are small and mainly need specialists
Reality: While many EA orgs have 5 or fewer employees more and more are getting funding to scale up. This means there is more demand for knowledge around organisation building and scaling as well as additional support staff roles. At EAG London I heard about jobs that hadn’t been published yet and was able to apply. Prior to the conference, I hadn’t even considered these roles as operation roles seemed very limited in scope.
Misconception: I can do more good by earning to give
Reality: This is really hard to evaluate but after talking to some experienced people at EAG I suspect there are still many people who undervalue their potential for direct work. With new organisations scaling up and the need for bigger projects (“megaprojects”) wanted by funders not being met, I think we’re seeing a skill gap, especially in entrepreneurship and management. Some people should forgo their current income in order to take jobs that funders are very willing to pay.
Some things that come to mind that might help mid-career people:
Meetings/Calls with people that were in similar situations and are now working in EA-aligned jobs
Possibilities to explore EA-work while taking a sabbatical, e.g. by doing research projects in an EA hub, joining an 80k career group for people of the same age, doing skilled volunteering
Writeups of more success stories of mid-career people changing jobs
Talks from mid-career people in EA-jobs at EA job place groups
Retreats for mid-career people interested in switching with speakers that have done the transition
More volunteering opportunities that enable getting to know organisations
I hope to be able to contribute to getting more mid-career people into direct EA work and have offered High Impact Professionals to support them in that area. Additionally, I’m also always happy to chat with people about this and to make introductions.
Thank you for the post. What did you mean by these two things? Can you provide more details or links?
>doing research projects in an EA hub
>joining an 80k career group for people of the same age
I meant staying for some time in a location where many other EAs are (like the Bay Area, Oxford, London) and working on a research project from there. This could combine the exchange with other people with self-study and deep thinking.
I would like to have a group of mid-career professionals that are all taking the 8-week 80k career course where we can encourage each other and can discuss questions that come up.
Ah thanks...it was not clear to me that these aren’t things that currently exist, cheers