I second that this is a problem exacerbated by 80,000 hours. For example, I used to work in biomedical research, and 80,000 hours recommends a career path that involves getting a PhD at a top school. I did my PhD in India, which severely limits my career capital. Eventually, I decided to leave research and move to data science to ETG. To be clear, there were other factors involved and I think it’s likely that 80,000 hours is correct that it’s only worth being in academic research if you are in the top 0.1%. But it is strangely discouraging nonetheless
I second that this is a problem exacerbated by 80,000 hours. For example, I used to work in biomedical research, and 80,000 hours recommends a career path that involves getting a PhD at a top school. I did my PhD in India, which severely limits my career capital. Eventually, I decided to leave research and move to data science to ETG. To be clear, there were other factors involved and I think it’s likely that 80,000 hours is correct that it’s only worth being in academic research if you are in the top 0.1%. But it is strangely discouraging nonetheless