Hi Frances, thanks for putting this out here, I enjoyed reading it as another Community Builder and someone who works on Community Health. Iāll give my opinions to your questions (as I donāt think of these as answers). Iād be keen to read what you think :)
1. I canāt really speak for programs reaching high schoolers, these donāt currently exist in Germany. If they did, Iād want to thoroughly lace them with lots of messages about making sure to explore others paths, opinions, ideas than just EA, and having friends that donāt have anything to do with EA. For our regular outreach at universities: Our young team in Germany has taken the general attitude of developing EA as a professional environment with space for personal connection. But the focus lies on professional networking, learning and mentorship. Plus, I personally recommend and encourage people that I speak to to have non-EA friends, try out non-EA work environments, and learn from non-EA sources. I think thatās one way to avoid filling a hole and get people to lock into the EA system for fear of changing gears.
2. I would say a mix of both. EA is a system (with the informal hierarchies and emphasis on networking, and an express focus on ambition) that is imo more likely than other systems to create people looking to stay āinsideā, or getting burnt out while trying to prove themselves. I think recent efforts to professionalize the movement more are one way of guarding against this.
3. Advice for younger people (all this is pretty basic, but I think important to stress especially with the non-conforming people we often attract):
Follow simple rules about work, like: Donāt accept work without a contract, maintain a degree of separation between work and private life, take breaks & vacations to recharge.
Make sure to explore at the start of your career, and explore outside of EA too.
Find a mentor with more work experience than you, ideally in the field you aspire to enter.
This is a marathon not a sprint. If you want to make an impact with your career, make sure you can sustain one for 30-odd years.
Most of us are still pretty young and in the process of figuring it out. Some of the work culture at central EA orgs might change over time as people age and mature.
Hi Frances,
thanks for putting this out here, I enjoyed reading it as another Community Builder and someone who works on Community Health.
Iāll give my opinions to your questions (as I donāt think of these as answers). Iād be keen to read what you think :)
1. I canāt really speak for programs reaching high schoolers, these donāt currently exist in Germany. If they did, Iād want to thoroughly lace them with lots of messages about making sure to explore others paths, opinions, ideas than just EA, and having friends that donāt have anything to do with EA.
For our regular outreach at universities: Our young team in Germany has taken the general attitude of developing EA as a professional environment with space for personal connection. But the focus lies on professional networking, learning and mentorship. Plus, I personally recommend and encourage people that I speak to to have non-EA friends, try out non-EA work environments, and learn from non-EA sources. I think thatās one way to avoid filling a hole and get people to lock into the EA system for fear of changing gears.
2. I would say a mix of both. EA is a system (with the informal hierarchies and emphasis on networking, and an express focus on ambition) that is imo more likely than other systems to create people looking to stay āinsideā, or getting burnt out while trying to prove themselves. I think recent efforts to professionalize the movement more are one way of guarding against this.
3. Advice for younger people (all this is pretty basic, but I think important to stress especially with the non-conforming people we often attract):
Follow simple rules about work, like: Donāt accept work without a contract, maintain a degree of separation between work and private life, take breaks & vacations to recharge.
Make sure to explore at the start of your career, and explore outside of EA too.
Find a mentor with more work experience than you, ideally in the field you aspire to enter.
This is a marathon not a sprint. If you want to make an impact with your career, make sure you can sustain one for 30-odd years.
Most of us are still pretty young and in the process of figuring it out. Some of the work culture at central EA orgs might change over time as people age and mature.