Some resources I think might be useful to the kinds of people who apply for research roles at Rethink Priorities
This shortform expresses my personal opinions only.
These resources are taken from an email I sent to AI Governance & Strategy researcher/āfellowship candidates who Rethink Priorities didnāt make offers to but who got pretty far through our application process. These resources followed this text: āwe would also like to mention some resources that we think might assist some of the people who applied for our roles in finding other positions that might be a good fit for them or in helping them boost their skills, plan their careers, and/āor pick and pursue important research projects independently. We acknowledge that you likely already know about many of these things and that this list of resources isnāt tailored to you specifically, but we hope some of it will be helpful anyway.ā
Our [RPās] newsletterākeep informed about our work and learn about future job opportunities we will open up
The Effective Altruism Newsletterāstay up to date with the effective altruism community and get updates about new job opportunities
The 80,000 Hours Job Boardāfind listings of jobs relevant to effective altruism and the idea of doing good better, including jobs that could help in building skills and testing fit.
I recently put together a List of EA funding opportunities, and noted: āI strongly encourage people to consider applying for one or more of these things. Given how quick applying often is and how impactful funded projects often are, applying is often worthwhile in expectation even if your odds of getting funding arenāt very high. (I think the same basic logic applies to job applications.)ā These funding opportunities could be used to support a very wide range of activities, such as research, career exploration and planning, community building, and entrepreneurship.
One thing applicants interested in roles at organizations like ours can do to test, improve, and demonstrate their fit for such roles is to read and write independent research for the Effective Altruism Forum and get feedback from the community. If youāre struggling to think of a good research topic, you could browse through this directory for open research questions.
Another way to test, improve, and demonstrate fit for roles at organizations like ours may be to work toward becoming a top forecaster on Metaculus or Good Judgement Open
I also compiled a lot of additional advice and resources along these lines here.
Iād now also suggest most people who are interested in AI governance and/āor technical AI safety roles participate in the relevant track of the AGI Safety Fundamentals course (or read through the curriculum content if you see this at a time when you wouldnāt be able to join the course for a while).
UPDATE: This is now fully superseded by my 2022 Interested in EA/ālongtermist research careers? Here are my top recommended resources, and thereās no reason to read this one.
Some resources I think might be useful to the kinds of people who apply for research roles at Rethink Priorities
This shortform expresses my personal opinions only.
These resources are taken from an email I sent to AI Governance & Strategy researcher/āfellowship candidates who Rethink Priorities didnāt make offers to but who got pretty far through our application process. These resources followed this text: āwe would also like to mention some resources that we think might assist some of the people who applied for our roles in finding other positions that might be a good fit for them or in helping them boost their skills, plan their careers, and/āor pick and pursue important research projects independently. We acknowledge that you likely already know about many of these things and that this list of resources isnāt tailored to you specifically, but we hope some of it will be helpful anyway.ā
Our [RPās] newsletterākeep informed about our work and learn about future job opportunities we will open up
The Effective Altruism Newsletterāstay up to date with the effective altruism community and get updates about new job opportunities
80,000 Hoursālots of resources for having more social impact with your career. In particular, see their in-depth process and template for career planning.
The 80,000 Hours Job Boardāfind listings of jobs relevant to effective altruism and the idea of doing good better, including jobs that could help in building skills and testing fit.
One example of a role that weāre excited about and think may be a fit for people who made it as far in our process as you did is the Centre for the Governance of AIās Fellowships.
I recently put together a List of EA funding opportunities, and noted: āI strongly encourage people to consider applying for one or more of these things. Given how quick applying often is and how impactful funded projects often are, applying is often worthwhile in expectation even if your odds of getting funding arenāt very high. (I think the same basic logic applies to job applications.)ā These funding opportunities could be used to support a very wide range of activities, such as research, career exploration and planning, community building, and entrepreneurship.
You could apply to EA-aligned research training programs. You can find a list of such programs here.
One thing applicants interested in roles at organizations like ours can do to test, improve, and demonstrate their fit for such roles is to read and write independent research for the Effective Altruism Forum and get feedback from the community. If youāre struggling to think of a good research topic, you could browse through this directory for open research questions.
Another way to test, improve, and demonstrate fit for roles at organizations like ours may be to work toward becoming a top forecaster on Metaculus or Good Judgement Open
I also compiled a lot of additional advice and resources along these lines here.
Iād now also suggest most people who are interested in AI governance and/āor technical AI safety roles participate in the relevant track of the AGI Safety Fundamentals course (or read through the curriculum content if you see this at a time when you wouldnāt be able to join the course for a while).