Career capital generally seems good for a variety of jobs in think tanks. You could also take a high-paying job as a lobbyist and earn-to-give. (Obviously you still want to be choosy what you are a lobbyist for, so as to not do actual harm with your job.)
I think the direct impact is underrated, especially if you can get to the Legislative Director level or something senior it does seem like some staff get a surprising amount of autonomy to pursue policies they care most about and that a lot of good policy is bottlenecked on having someone to champion it and aggressively push for it.
Also just want to add that lobbying is a very sought after skill in some EA cause areas (like animals) where there is a skill gap so you could also consider getting a role in an animal advocacy non profit after to help them make progress and not have to pay extortionate PA prices.
+1 to direct impact being underrated. But i do think that its not just any role that can be useful and that most of working in government is what you make out of it (networking, finding the highest leverage opportunities and connections etc.) not just getting a role.
Can you elaborate on why? Is it the career capital, direct impact, or something else altogether?
Yes, I was thinking all of those:
Career capital generally seems good for a variety of jobs in think tanks. You could also take a high-paying job as a lobbyist and earn-to-give. (Obviously you still want to be choosy what you are a lobbyist for, so as to not do actual harm with your job.)
I think the direct impact is underrated, especially if you can get to the Legislative Director level or something senior it does seem like some staff get a surprising amount of autonomy to pursue policies they care most about and that a lot of good policy is bottlenecked on having someone to champion it and aggressively push for it.
Also just want to add that lobbying is a very sought after skill in some EA cause areas (like animals) where there is a skill gap so you could also consider getting a role in an animal advocacy non profit after to help them make progress and not have to pay extortionate PA prices.
+1 to direct impact being underrated. But i do think that its not just any role that can be useful and that most of working in government is what you make out of it (networking, finding the highest leverage opportunities and connections etc.) not just getting a role.