I am a young college grad from the U.S. with a background in working with children and in domestic violence/mental health fields. As a result of my own personal experiences and traumas, I am compelled to go into public interest law or social work.
My strengths are working with children or adults one-on-one. I feel guilty and concerned about this; I worry my skills are not conducive to truly helping the greater good. Further, if I become a public interest attorney or a social worker, how much impact is that truly going to have? At this point, I am pretty sure I want to go to law school and eventually work in child welfare/human rights policy. This would translate to a focus on improving institutional decision making and increasing resilience among various populations. I just don’t know how to evaluate career paths in a way that is realistic, not perfectionist, and conducive to my personal skills yet open to future growth and learning. I’ve read the 80000 Hours website so many times I can’t count but still seem a bit lost. Any suggestions for a young person ready to set out on a career path?
you do NOT need to feel guilty for being skilled at working one on one with people from traumatized backgrounds! it’s a good thing!
there’s nothing stopping you from developing other skills as well—you’re young and have so many options
I can tell you’re both very passionate about helping people one to one and making a big difference in the world and you’re feeling like there’s no way to do both. That sounds really stressful.
I am a young college grad from the U.S. with a background in working with children and in domestic violence/mental health fields. As a result of my own personal experiences and traumas, I am compelled to go into public interest law or social work.
My strengths are working with children or adults one-on-one. I feel guilty and concerned about this; I worry my skills are not conducive to truly helping the greater good. Further, if I become a public interest attorney or a social worker, how much impact is that truly going to have? At this point, I am pretty sure I want to go to law school and eventually work in child welfare/human rights policy. This would translate to a focus on improving institutional decision making and increasing resilience among various populations. I just don’t know how to evaluate career paths in a way that is realistic, not perfectionist, and conducive to my personal skills yet open to future growth and learning. I’ve read the 80000 Hours website so many times I can’t count but still seem a bit lost. Any suggestions for a young person ready to set out on a career path?
no suggestions, just a few thoughts:
you do NOT need to feel guilty for being skilled at working one on one with people from traumatized backgrounds! it’s a good thing!
there’s nothing stopping you from developing other skills as well—you’re young and have so many options
I can tell you’re both very passionate about helping people one to one and making a big difference in the world and you’re feeling like there’s no way to do both. That sounds really stressful.
it’s okay to make career decisions partially or fully based on factors other than EA. you have more than one goal and that’s fine: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/zu28unKfTHoxRWpGn/you-have-more-than-one-goal-and-that-s-fine