Executive summary: The author argues that starting a high-impact career is unusually difficult but often worth sustained effort, and that self-initiated projects can help build a track record that improves one’s chances.
Key points:
The author argues that breaking into direct EA work is hard due to unfamiliar jargon, niche frameworks, idiosyncratic hiring practices, many applicants, and few structured entry paths.
The author suggests these barriers can disadvantage capable candidates, especially those without connections to the EA community.
The author encourages people pursuing impact to value their efforts even if they have not yet achieved the outcomes they want.
The author argues that the potential value of direct work is very large, citing a 2018 survey where orgs reported willingness to pay about $1M for junior and $7.4M for senior contributions over three years.
The author speculates that the value of talent may have increased since then due to inflation, growing funding, and talent bottlenecks.
The author claims that many people take years to enter impactful roles, and that persistence is common among those who eventually succeed.
The author argues that people often underestimate how much their capacity to contribute can grow after entering a role.
The author claims experiential learning in impactful roles can exceed that of formal education in career-relevant skills.
The author recommends building a track record through accessible self-initiated projects such as advocacy outreach, fundraising experiments, offering services, newsletters, and organizing talks or volunteering.
The author suggests these projects can both create impact and demonstrate initiative to potential employers.
The author uses a thought experiment to argue that choosing impactful work can lead to large differences in others’ lives even if personal happiness remains similar.
The author concludes by affirming that pursuing impactful work is difficult but valuable and that those attempting it “belong” in the community.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The author argues that starting a high-impact career is unusually difficult but often worth sustained effort, and that self-initiated projects can help build a track record that improves one’s chances.
Key points:
The author argues that breaking into direct EA work is hard due to unfamiliar jargon, niche frameworks, idiosyncratic hiring practices, many applicants, and few structured entry paths.
The author suggests these barriers can disadvantage capable candidates, especially those without connections to the EA community.
The author encourages people pursuing impact to value their efforts even if they have not yet achieved the outcomes they want.
The author argues that the potential value of direct work is very large, citing a 2018 survey where orgs reported willingness to pay about $1M for junior and $7.4M for senior contributions over three years.
The author speculates that the value of talent may have increased since then due to inflation, growing funding, and talent bottlenecks.
The author claims that many people take years to enter impactful roles, and that persistence is common among those who eventually succeed.
The author argues that people often underestimate how much their capacity to contribute can grow after entering a role.
The author claims experiential learning in impactful roles can exceed that of formal education in career-relevant skills.
The author recommends building a track record through accessible self-initiated projects such as advocacy outreach, fundraising experiments, offering services, newsletters, and organizing talks or volunteering.
The author suggests these projects can both create impact and demonstrate initiative to potential employers.
The author uses a thought experiment to argue that choosing impactful work can lead to large differences in others’ lives even if personal happiness remains similar.
The author concludes by affirming that pursuing impactful work is difficult but valuable and that those attempting it “belong” in the community.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.