I’m not particularly EA, but I think they gist of the argument is—you should work where can you make the most marginal impact, not necessarily in a job that is the highest impact overall. So if you’re choosing a career for impact, you might be one of only a few thousand people thinking about things in EA terms. If you want to have a large impact, then you ought to look at things that are large in scope and neglected, etc.
If somehow the EA community coordinated all resources, or was much much larger in size, the recommended careers would probably be different. In that case, obviously some people would need to be teachers, farmers, etc., and it would be important to encourage people capable of doing those things well to pursue those careers. But, given that there are relatively few people willing to change their careers for this sort of impact right now, the careers recommendations that are made in fields where a few people might have a larger impact.
This isn’t a denial of interdependence. It’s more of an implicit acknowledgement of the limits of the current size of the community.
Another factor is that many careers that EA careers are dependent upon are likely to be filled regardless. There are people who would like to be, or whose circumstances cause them to be, teachers, construction workers, farmers, truck drivers, etc. So while all those jobs probably have a (positive) impact, it’s less urgent for someone who wants to have the greatest impact to pursue that as a career. While education might be important, I know that if I don’t apply for a job at my local high school, another (even more) capable teacher probably will. Instead, on the margin, an EA might have a greater impact by pursuing something more neglected, or pursuing a career where they can earn money to donate to a charity that can hire more people for a neglected cause, etc.
The core idea is that because there is only a small community of people interested in having the greatest impact they can, then they should pursue careers that on the margin would be most likely to have the greatest impact. It doesn’t necessarily mean that these careers are intrinsically or functionally “better” or higher ranked than others. They are prioritized by EA because few people are in EA, and fewer people are thinking about pursuing recommended careers.
I’m not particularly EA, but I think they gist of the argument is—you should work where can you make the most marginal impact, not necessarily in a job that is the highest impact overall. So if you’re choosing a career for impact, you might be one of only a few thousand people thinking about things in EA terms. If you want to have a large impact, then you ought to look at things that are large in scope and neglected, etc.
If somehow the EA community coordinated all resources, or was much much larger in size, the recommended careers would probably be different. In that case, obviously some people would need to be teachers, farmers, etc., and it would be important to encourage people capable of doing those things well to pursue those careers. But, given that there are relatively few people willing to change their careers for this sort of impact right now, the careers recommendations that are made in fields where a few people might have a larger impact.
This isn’t a denial of interdependence. It’s more of an implicit acknowledgement of the limits of the current size of the community.
Another factor is that many careers that EA careers are dependent upon are likely to be filled regardless. There are people who would like to be, or whose circumstances cause them to be, teachers, construction workers, farmers, truck drivers, etc. So while all those jobs probably have a (positive) impact, it’s less urgent for someone who wants to have the greatest impact to pursue that as a career. While education might be important, I know that if I don’t apply for a job at my local high school, another (even more) capable teacher probably will. Instead, on the margin, an EA might have a greater impact by pursuing something more neglected, or pursuing a career where they can earn money to donate to a charity that can hire more people for a neglected cause, etc.
The core idea is that because there is only a small community of people interested in having the greatest impact they can, then they should pursue careers that on the margin would be most likely to have the greatest impact. It doesn’t necessarily mean that these careers are intrinsically or functionally “better” or higher ranked than others. They are prioritized by EA because few people are in EA, and fewer people are thinking about pursuing recommended careers.
Okay yeah, I think I get it now. Thanks.