It seems to me there is some inherent tension between the goals “helping the camp participants” and “helping the organizations”. The later puts more pressure on selection, which may not be that good for learning.
In case of the group nr.1, willingness to spend 4-6 weeks on such event is likely a credible signal of dedication to EA, but plausibly may be even slightly anti-correlated with ops talent (I would expect to find some of the best people organising something, and having higher opportunity costs).
In case of the group nr.2 and 4 days event the whole setup seems more balanced and fair when considering interests of the participants. Many EA orgs are somewhat special and the job market is less one-sided in the senior roles side.
General comment regarding all efforts related to talent: in the whole EA talent ecosystem people should think carefully about creating strange incentive landscapes and possibly moral hazards. I recommend spending a lot of thoughts on that, not necessarily in a public way.
Thank you for your comments! You’ve particularly made us think about the length of camp for the first group. We’re now leaning towards something between 5-10 days. Your comment about potential risks is also greatly appreciated, and we will think carefully about how much we will make public moving forward.
Few comments
It seems to me there is some inherent tension between the goals “helping the camp participants” and “helping the organizations”. The later puts more pressure on selection, which may not be that good for learning.
In case of the group nr.1, willingness to spend 4-6 weeks on such event is likely a credible signal of dedication to EA, but plausibly may be even slightly anti-correlated with ops talent (I would expect to find some of the best people organising something, and having higher opportunity costs).
In case of the group nr.2 and 4 days event the whole setup seems more balanced and fair when considering interests of the participants. Many EA orgs are somewhat special and the job market is less one-sided in the senior roles side.
General comment regarding all efforts related to talent: in the whole EA talent ecosystem people should think carefully about creating strange incentive landscapes and possibly moral hazards. I recommend spending a lot of thoughts on that, not necessarily in a public way.
Thank you for your comments! You’ve particularly made us think about the length of camp for the first group. We’re now leaning towards something between 5-10 days. Your comment about potential risks is also greatly appreciated, and we will think carefully about how much we will make public moving forward.