How can I leverage a tech sales background for EA? I’m early in my career (age 25) and going to be located in Texas for at least the next 1-2 years. Long-term I think institutional decision making, geopolitics and clean energy are core issues for me, and I would like to get involved in politics/policy. I only have a BA in Economics and Philosophy from an unremarkable (unless you care about football) state school.
I wonder how important it might be to go back to school for either law school or research (MA/PhD) as a possible next move. I’m not particularly excited about the idea of not having substantial income for 3-6 years.
Just a very quick comment: if you’d like to get involved in politics/policy, the standard route is to try to network your way directly into a job as staffer, on a political campaign, in the exec branch or at a think tank—though this often takes a few years (and is easier if in DC), so in the meantime people normally focus on building up relevant credentials and experience.
In the second category, grad school is seen as useful step, especially if you want to be more on the technocrat side rather than party politics side of things.
Note that an MPP or Masters in another relevant subject (e.g. Economics) is enough for most positions, and that only takes 1-2 years, rather than 3-6. (PhDs are only needed if you want to be a technical expert or researcher.) It could be at least worth applying to see if you can get into a top ~5 MPP programme, or having that as a goal to potentially work towards.
Have you tried applying for any roles in clean energy? It’s an absolutely booming sector, especially if Biden gets the US to rejoin and more things start happening in the US.
How can I leverage a tech sales background for EA? I’m early in my career (age 25) and going to be located in Texas for at least the next 1-2 years. Long-term I think institutional decision making, geopolitics and clean energy are core issues for me, and I would like to get involved in politics/policy. I only have a BA in Economics and Philosophy from an unremarkable (unless you care about football) state school.
I wonder how important it might be to go back to school for either law school or research (MA/PhD) as a possible next move. I’m not particularly excited about the idea of not having substantial income for 3-6 years.
Hi Brad,
Just a very quick comment: if you’d like to get involved in politics/policy, the standard route is to try to network your way directly into a job as staffer, on a political campaign, in the exec branch or at a think tank—though this often takes a few years (and is easier if in DC), so in the meantime people normally focus on building up relevant credentials and experience.
In the second category, grad school is seen as useful step, especially if you want to be more on the technocrat side rather than party politics side of things.
Note that an MPP or Masters in another relevant subject (e.g. Economics) is enough for most positions, and that only takes 1-2 years, rather than 3-6. (PhDs are only needed if you want to be a technical expert or researcher.) It could be at least worth applying to see if you can get into a top ~5 MPP programme, or having that as a goal to potentially work towards.
A little more info here and in the links: https://80000hours.org/key-ideas/#government-and-policy https://80000hours.org/topic/careers/government/
Have you tried applying for any roles in clean energy? It’s an absolutely booming sector, especially if Biden gets the US to rejoin and more things start happening in the US.