Hey! I think this is a good question that a lot of people have.
I don’t think either extreme is a good idea. I wouldn’t recommend simply “following your passion”, but I also wouldn’t recommend “forcing” yourself to do the job that looks best in expectation.
In reality, the best job for you will probably be something you have at least some interest in, especially if it’s going to be self-directed theoretical work! But I’d bet there are a lot of things you’re interested in, or could be interested in… :)
I’d recommend trying lots of different areas over the next few years, through courses or reading or internships or conversations or summer jobs, and trying to find a few different areas that interest you. Ideally they’d be areas you can also help a lot of people!
I also think it’s totally okay to be uncertain about what you’re going to work on long-term until your late 20s or even later, so you shouldn’t worry about following an interest and later on changing your mind.
I hope that helps and I’d love to see an update in a year or two!
I wasn’t proposing that “follow your passion” was the other idea I was going with. I do think that some combination of personal interest and external importance will probably be highest utility for a given personality. I just wanted to make sure that AGI alignment wasn’t so great that I would have to practically throw away my feelings for humanity’s existence. I have also read a recent post questioning the basis of the “recommended careers” in EA and 80k hours (post). Thanks for the post!
Hey! I think this is a good question that a lot of people have.
I don’t think either extreme is a good idea. I wouldn’t recommend simply “following your passion”, but I also wouldn’t recommend “forcing” yourself to do the job that looks best in expectation.
In reality, the best job for you will probably be something you have at least some interest in, especially if it’s going to be self-directed theoretical work! But I’d bet there are a lot of things you’re interested in, or could be interested in… :)
I’d recommend trying lots of different areas over the next few years, through courses or reading or internships or conversations or summer jobs, and trying to find a few different areas that interest you. Ideally they’d be areas you can also help a lot of people!
I also think it’s totally okay to be uncertain about what you’re going to work on long-term until your late 20s or even later, so you shouldn’t worry about following an interest and later on changing your mind.
I hope that helps and I’d love to see an update in a year or two!
I wasn’t proposing that “follow your passion” was the other idea I was going with. I do think that some combination of personal interest and external importance will probably be highest utility for a given personality. I just wanted to make sure that AGI alignment wasn’t so great that I would have to practically throw away my feelings for humanity’s existence. I have also read a recent post questioning the basis of the “recommended careers” in EA and 80k hours (post). Thanks for the post!