I am a fully qualified science teacher, took a break to do a PhD in Maths, which will be finishing in the next year or two, then will be looking to get into a longer term career. I have a lot of experience in the education sector, but am very interested in new challenges, broadening my horizon and even looking at the EA sector itself, because I find it all very philosophically interesting too.
I want to maximise my impact and don’t have much interest in AI (I find it very interesting in general, unrelated to the EA ‘interest’).
I enjoy thinking long term, difficult technical challenges, working with people, but unsure of what directions to pursue and what actions to start taking now. I want to start thinking more about building towards an impact focused career, as opposed to just having a particular job, but I’m not really sure what to do or build to start moving in that direction. Any advice appreciated and follow up questions welcome!
Hi there, ElectricSheep! This is a good question—thanks for asking.
To my mind, your question boils down to the following: “How can folks who want to maximize their impact build towards an intentional, impact-focused career?”
I realize that phrasing strips away some of the details you shared about your own personal situation (e.g. that you’re completing a PhD in Maths, that you’re not interested in AI, etc.), but my advice is the same: leverage career guides (e.g. 80,000 Hours and Probably Good), be attentive to aligned job boards (again 80,000 Hours and Probably Good), build career capital (e.g. by volunteering with related orgs, getting involved with local or virtual EA groups), and talk to people (e.g. through participating in AMAs!).
I’ll end there, since I know you posted this on the Career Advisors AMA and think this question is a good fit for that conversation.
I am a fully qualified science teacher, took a break to do a PhD in Maths, which will be finishing in the next year or two, then will be looking to get into a longer term career. I have a lot of experience in the education sector, but am very interested in new challenges, broadening my horizon and even looking at the EA sector itself, because I find it all very philosophically interesting too.
I want to maximise my impact and don’t have much interest in AI (I find it very interesting in general, unrelated to the EA ‘interest’).
I enjoy thinking long term, difficult technical challenges, working with people, but unsure of what directions to pursue and what actions to start taking now. I want to start thinking more about building towards an impact focused career, as opposed to just having a particular job, but I’m not really sure what to do or build to start moving in that direction. Any advice appreciated and follow up questions welcome!
Hi there, ElectricSheep! This is a good question—thanks for asking.
To my mind, your question boils down to the following: “How can folks who want to maximize their impact build towards an intentional, impact-focused career?”
I realize that phrasing strips away some of the details you shared about your own personal situation (e.g. that you’re completing a PhD in Maths, that you’re not interested in AI, etc.), but my advice is the same: leverage career guides (e.g. 80,000 Hours and Probably Good), be attentive to aligned job boards (again 80,000 Hours and Probably Good), build career capital (e.g. by volunteering with related orgs, getting involved with local or virtual EA groups), and talk to people (e.g. through participating in AMAs!).
I’ll end there, since I know you posted this on the Career Advisors AMA and think this question is a good fit for that conversation.
Brilliant, thank you for the reply, I appreciate it!