Working in the coal industry
Climate change and particulate pollution are very bad things. But the responsibility for it is spread over tens of millions of people working in the sector, and billions of people using the products. Furthermore, greater availability of energy through fossil fuels is also helping to lift billions out of poverty. This makes it unlikely to be one of the most harmful careers per employee.
The oil industry isn’t as bad as coal. Overall, my guess is that marginal oil exploration is harmful, in that we’re extracting more than would be socially optimal (if you were to factor in the costs of carbon dioxide), though it’s not super harmful. So earning to give in the sector could be permissible, though if you could find an industry that also has positive effects that would be much better. Also this isn’t a thoroughly considered view so could easily change.
Also, if you were just setting out to earn to give, I don’t think focusing on petroleum engineering is an especially good strategy because it’s very narrow. You might just turn out not to like it. More worrying, if a carbon tax was introduced (which sounds pretty likely in 10-20 years), then the amount of oil that gets extracted will fall significantly, which will especially harm new entrants to the field. Further, if solar prices keep coming down as fast as they have, then solar electricity will soon be cheaper than fossil fuel produced electricity, and that’s going to be another massive hit to the industry.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10755598/Global-solar-dominance-in-sight-as-science-trumps-fossil-fuels.html
More generally, you’re building career capital that isn’t very robust to the future. It’s better to focus on more generally transferable skills rather than betting on one industry.
Hi there,
In the most harmful jobs post we do say:
The oil industry isn’t as bad as coal. Overall, my guess is that marginal oil exploration is harmful, in that we’re extracting more than would be socially optimal (if you were to factor in the costs of carbon dioxide), though it’s not super harmful. So earning to give in the sector could be permissible, though if you could find an industry that also has positive effects that would be much better. Also this isn’t a thoroughly considered view so could easily change.
Also, if you were just setting out to earn to give, I don’t think focusing on petroleum engineering is an especially good strategy because it’s very narrow. You might just turn out not to like it. More worrying, if a carbon tax was introduced (which sounds pretty likely in 10-20 years), then the amount of oil that gets extracted will fall significantly, which will especially harm new entrants to the field. Further, if solar prices keep coming down as fast as they have, then solar electricity will soon be cheaper than fossil fuel produced electricity, and that’s going to be another massive hit to the industry. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10755598/Global-solar-dominance-in-sight-as-science-trumps-fossil-fuels.html
More generally, you’re building career capital that isn’t very robust to the future. It’s better to focus on more generally transferable skills rather than betting on one industry.
In terms of comparing your other options, work through our tool: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/how-to-choose/
Ben