Could you expand a bit on why you say āIf I had to push one route it would be towards jobs in politics as being the most high impact, but maybe also the hardest to do really well inā? And do you see that as very much your own personal view, or do you think thatād be a fairly common view for EA-minded people who know a lot about UK policy and politics?
There are maybe 40 people who are in the EA community currently in the UK civil service and none currently in politics. I think most people I know would agree that it is comparatively more useful and more neglected for EAs to move towards politics.
I also think it is generally more impactful to do well in politics than to do well in the civil service, as ultimately politicians make the decisions. Although I do know EAs would disagree with this and point out that people do not have positions of political power for very long.
I think politics is more challenging: I think it is more competitive to do very well in. Also I think if you want to go into politics you need to really commit to that path and spend your time engaged in party politics whereas I think it is easier to move in and out of the civil service.
It sounds like youāre mostly talking about trying to become a politician. Do you also think that non-elected political roles such as being an MPās researcher or advisor have higher expected value on the margin than civil service roles? And if so, would that expected value be dominated by the chance they can lead to becoming a politician?
Based on your claim that no EAs are currently in UK politics and the very brief and exploratory nature of 80kās career review of party politics, Iām also thinking another major benefit may be providing value of information to the broader EA community.
If I had to guess and (and I feel uncomfortable doing so as not really going on anything here but my gut) I would say that at an entry level it is all pretty similar but that an entry level job in the civil service is likely slightly higher impact than an entry level job as an MPās research but the variation between jobs and MPs is likely more important. I think your personal expected value is dominated by the jobs you get in later career rather than at an entry level so this is small on the scale of your career.
Value of information to the broader EA community is good, as is any other low-hanging-fruit benefits gained by being an early EA mover into a space.
Very useful, thanks for this!
Could you expand a bit on why you say āIf I had to push one route it would be towards jobs in politics as being the most high impact, but maybe also the hardest to do really well inā? And do you see that as very much your own personal view, or do you think thatād be a fairly common view for EA-minded people who know a lot about UK policy and politics?
There are maybe 40 people who are in the EA community currently in the UK civil service and none currently in politics. I think most people I know would agree that it is comparatively more useful and more neglected for EAs to move towards politics.
I also think it is generally more impactful to do well in politics than to do well in the civil service, as ultimately politicians make the decisions. Although I do know EAs would disagree with this and point out that people do not have positions of political power for very long.
I think politics is more challenging: I think it is more competitive to do very well in. Also I think if you want to go into politics you need to really commit to that path and spend your time engaged in party politics whereas I think it is easier to move in and out of the civil service.
That makes sense.
It sounds like youāre mostly talking about trying to become a politician. Do you also think that non-elected political roles such as being an MPās researcher or advisor have higher expected value on the margin than civil service roles? And if so, would that expected value be dominated by the chance they can lead to becoming a politician?
Based on your claim that no EAs are currently in UK politics and the very brief and exploratory nature of 80kās career review of party politics, Iām also thinking another major benefit may be providing value of information to the broader EA community.
Hi,
If I had to guess and (and I feel uncomfortable doing so as not really going on anything here but my gut) I would say that at an entry level it is all pretty similar but that an entry level job in the civil service is likely slightly higher impact than an entry level job as an MPās research but the variation between jobs and MPs is likely more important. I think your personal expected value is dominated by the jobs you get in later career rather than at an entry level so this is small on the scale of your career.
Value of information to the broader EA community is good, as is any other low-hanging-fruit benefits gained by being an early EA mover into a space.