I would feel more positively about this if there were a carveout for organizers with financial need, with hourly stipends capped at the wages typically received by students at the university in question. At least at the US undergraduate level, I think it would be plausible to operationalize with financial need in a semi-objective albeit imperfect manner.[1]
EA faces challenges with socioeconomic and other forms of diversity as it is. Without getting into broader arguments over diversity, at a minimum we want the most qualified people to get jobs in the ecosystem. That doesn’t jive with giving a leg up to those who have family or other resources that allow them to build career capital through volunteering for unpaid, part-time work. Given how competitive the EA job market is, making what seems to be a common resume/career-building experience inaccessible to would-be organizers with financial need strikes me as moving in the wrong direction here.
E.g., receiving need-based financial aid, having a FAFSA Expected Family Contribution of no more than $X, having worked at a paid, part-time student job prior to becoming an organizer that the organizer is giving up.
I would feel more positively about this if there were a carveout for organizers with financial need, with hourly stipends capped at the wages typically received by students at the university in question. At least at the US undergraduate level, I think it would be plausible to operationalize with financial need in a semi-objective albeit imperfect manner.[1]
EA faces challenges with socioeconomic and other forms of diversity as it is. Without getting into broader arguments over diversity, at a minimum we want the most qualified people to get jobs in the ecosystem. That doesn’t jive with giving a leg up to those who have family or other resources that allow them to build career capital through volunteering for unpaid, part-time work. Given how competitive the EA job market is, making what seems to be a common resume/career-building experience inaccessible to would-be organizers with financial need strikes me as moving in the wrong direction here.
E.g., receiving need-based financial aid, having a FAFSA Expected Family Contribution of no more than $X, having worked at a paid, part-time student job prior to becoming an organizer that the organizer is giving up.