I agree with this and will add a (potentially unpopular) caveat of my own—work a ‘normal’ job outside of your EA interest area altogether if possible. Absolutely fantastic applicable experience to a whole range of stuff.
I hire for AI-related roles sometimes and one of the main things I look for when hiring AI Safety roles is experience doing other work. Undergrad to Postgrad to Academic Role is great for many, but experience working in a ‘normal’ work environment is super valuable and is something I look for. It seems super neglected for consideration in recruiting too. For me it’s a huge green flag.
Just understanding how large organisations work, how stuff like logistics and supply chains work, the ‘soft knowledge’ often missing from a pure research career is insanely valuable in many sectors.
It’s almost frowned upon to the extent people apologise for it. “I worked 2 years in a warehouse, but not because I don’t care about AI Safety, it’s just I needed the money”—like dude, actual logistics experience is why I picked you for interview!
Your mileage may vary obviously, and the AI Safety roles I hire for are for ‘frontline impact’ so less research and more stakeholder interaction so those soft skills are more useful, but too many people think stepping outside the “academic beeline” is some kind of failure.
It’s also worth highlighting I do super impactful AI Safety work now, leading a team that does some amazing frontline work, and in the past have been rejected from every single EA grant, EA fellowship, and EA job I’ve ever applied to :) That can be demoralising, but obviously wasn’t related to my value! Perhaps just fit and luck :)
I agree with this and will add a (potentially unpopular) caveat of my own—work a ‘normal’ job outside of your EA interest area altogether if possible. Absolutely fantastic applicable experience to a whole range of stuff.
I hire for AI-related roles sometimes and one of the main things I look for when hiring AI Safety roles is experience doing other work. Undergrad to Postgrad to Academic Role is great for many, but experience working in a ‘normal’ work environment is super valuable and is something I look for. It seems super neglected for consideration in recruiting too. For me it’s a huge green flag.
Just understanding how large organisations work, how stuff like logistics and supply chains work, the ‘soft knowledge’ often missing from a pure research career is insanely valuable in many sectors.
It’s almost frowned upon to the extent people apologise for it. “I worked 2 years in a warehouse, but not because I don’t care about AI Safety, it’s just I needed the money”—like dude, actual logistics experience is why I picked you for interview!
Your mileage may vary obviously, and the AI Safety roles I hire for are for ‘frontline impact’ so less research and more stakeholder interaction so those soft skills are more useful, but too many people think stepping outside the “academic beeline” is some kind of failure.
It’s also worth highlighting I do super impactful AI Safety work now, leading a team that does some amazing frontline work, and in the past have been rejected from every single EA grant, EA fellowship, and EA job I’ve ever applied to :) That can be demoralising, but obviously wasn’t related to my value! Perhaps just fit and luck :)