Thank you for posting this! Iām in my mid-40s and it took me some years to get more into the EA movement due to the age difference and my not being sure what I could contribute. So I can very much understand this and also think supporting mid- and late-career people can be very helpful. For me, EAGs were the place to find and connect with other senior people and I now see many more possible ways I can play a growing role in the movement. Currently, Iām volunteering in a role I have much experience with and I see there is a need for this kind of work.
Iām happy to see that High Impact Professionals (mentioned in another comment already) is taking on parts of this space. Giving What We Can also is adding more general advice around donations that could address some of your questions around donations. At least joining GWWC meetups helped me see that many people have anxieties around driving themselves to donation and income levels that may not be sustainable in the long term.
Less than 9% of respondents in the 2019 EA survey said they are over 45 and the 2020 survey seems similar. Missing out on a big part of the population that includes many people with high salaries, career capital, large networks and also more free time as children grow up seems like a waste. It also seems to me there are more people with grown children looking for meaning while having fewer financial obligations for whom more engagement in EA could be a good fit.
Iād be happy to chat and will send you a message.
Oh my, thank you so much for your voice, youāve outlined the problem very nicely!
Yes, exactly. I volunteer in my local/ācountry - EA PLāwithin my field of expertise which is UX design. I redesigned our website, and I help with user or even marketing researchābut honestlyāI can do so much more good with my money donation and climbing the ladder in my profession. I just feel it in my bonesāas un-scientifically as it sounds. I even came to the point where I ask myself questions like āDo I volunteer there to actually make any impact, or is it just for me feeling good about doing somethingā. And usually I donāt like the answer that pops in my head, because I donāt want to abandon my community. But I have only one life, and I want to make the best of it.
So If I canāt/āwont change a career Iām happy to accept ETG as my only option, but how to increase impact there? There are so many possible steps, and I have no one to brainstorm about it.
Iām writing āme, me, meā all the time, and the struggle is real, but honestly, I came here to discuss the realm of neglected mature EAās. Because if they, if we donāt fit into any of high impact jobs, there are no available strategies for us, and no one-fit-all solution most likely. And that leaves us idle, while we could absolutley rock in donations and brining EA to so many different corners of the world.
Thank you for posting this! Iām in my mid-40s and it took me some years to get more into the EA movement due to the age difference and my not being sure what I could contribute. So I can very much understand this and also think supporting mid- and late-career people can be very helpful. For me, EAGs were the place to find and connect with other senior people and I now see many more possible ways I can play a growing role in the movement. Currently, Iām volunteering in a role I have much experience with and I see there is a need for this kind of work.
Iām happy to see that High Impact Professionals (mentioned in another comment already) is taking on parts of this space. Giving What We Can also is adding more general advice around donations that could address some of your questions around donations. At least joining GWWC meetups helped me see that many people have anxieties around driving themselves to donation and income levels that may not be sustainable in the long term.
Less than 9% of respondents in the 2019 EA survey said they are over 45 and the 2020 survey seems similar. Missing out on a big part of the population that includes many people with high salaries, career capital, large networks and also more free time as children grow up seems like a waste. It also seems to me there are more people with grown children looking for meaning while having fewer financial obligations for whom more engagement in EA could be a good fit.
Iād be happy to chat and will send you a message.
Oh my, thank you so much for your voice, youāve outlined the problem very nicely!
Yes, exactly. I volunteer in my local/ācountry - EA PLāwithin my field of expertise which is UX design. I redesigned our website, and I help with user or even marketing researchābut honestlyāI can do so much more good with my money donation and climbing the ladder in my profession. I just feel it in my bonesāas un-scientifically as it sounds. I even came to the point where I ask myself questions like āDo I volunteer there to actually make any impact, or is it just for me feeling good about doing somethingā. And usually I donāt like the answer that pops in my head, because I donāt want to abandon my community. But I have only one life, and I want to make the best of it.
So If I canāt/āwont change a career Iām happy to accept ETG as my only option, but how to increase impact there? There are so many possible steps, and I have no one to brainstorm about it.
Iām writing āme, me, meā all the time, and the struggle is real, but honestly, I came here to discuss the realm of neglected mature EAās. Because if they, if we donāt fit into any of high impact jobs, there are no available strategies for us, and no one-fit-all solution most likely. And that leaves us idle, while we could absolutley rock in donations and brining EA to so many different corners of the world.