Good post! I share Greg’s doubts about the particular question of salaries (and think that lowering them would have several bad consequences), but I think you’ve summed up most of the major things that people get, or hope to get, from jobs at EA organizations.
Other than your reasons and “money”, I’d include “training”; if you want to learn to do Open Phil-style research, working at Open Phil is the most reliable way to do this.
When I started at GiveWell, I was surprised at how people in these circles treated me when they found out I was working there, even though I was an entry-level employee.
Are there any examples of this that stand out to you? I can certainly believe that it happened, but I’m having trouble picturing what it might look like.
(Since I began working at CEA five months ago, I haven’t noticed any difference in the way my interactions with people in EA have gone, save for cases where the interaction was directly related to my job. But perhaps there are effects for me, too, and I just haven’t spotted them yet.)
Somewhat mixed in with the above points, I think there’s a lot of value to be had from feeling like a member of a tribe, especially a tribe that you think is awesome. I think working at a professional EA organization is the closest thing there is to a royal road to tribal membership in the EA community.
I think you’re right that EA work is a quick way to feel like part of the tribe, and that’s something I’d like to change.
So I’ll repeat what I’ve said in the comments of other posts: If you believe in the principles of EA, and are taking action on them in some way (work, research, donations, advocacy, or taking steps to do any of those things in the future), I consider you a member of the EA “tribe”.
I can’t speak for any other person in EA, but from what I’ve heard in conversations with people at many different organizations, I think that something like my view is fairly common.
So I’ll repeat what I’ve said in the comments of other posts: If you believe in the principles of EA, and are taking action on them in some way (work, research, donations, advocacy, or taking steps to do any of those things in the future), I consider you a member of the EA “tribe”
+1, though I don’t think this is common knowledge. (And even if a lot of people say this, many people may still not believe it.)
Are there any examples of this that stand out to you?
Eh, just feeling like I was given a lot of conversational space at parties, and people occasionally asking me a bunch of questions about GiveWell research and/or what working there was like.
Good post! I share Greg’s doubts about the particular question of salaries (and think that lowering them would have several bad consequences), but I think you’ve summed up most of the major things that people get, or hope to get, from jobs at EA organizations.
Other than your reasons and “money”, I’d include “training”; if you want to learn to do Open Phil-style research, working at Open Phil is the most reliable way to do this.
Are there any examples of this that stand out to you? I can certainly believe that it happened, but I’m having trouble picturing what it might look like.
(Since I began working at CEA five months ago, I haven’t noticed any difference in the way my interactions with people in EA have gone, save for cases where the interaction was directly related to my job. But perhaps there are effects for me, too, and I just haven’t spotted them yet.)
I think you’re right that EA work is a quick way to feel like part of the tribe, and that’s something I’d like to change.
So I’ll repeat what I’ve said in the comments of other posts: If you believe in the principles of EA, and are taking action on them in some way (work, research, donations, advocacy, or taking steps to do any of those things in the future), I consider you a member of the EA “tribe”.
I can’t speak for any other person in EA, but from what I’ve heard in conversations with people at many different organizations, I think that something like my view is fairly common.
+1, though I don’t think this is common knowledge. (And even if a lot of people say this, many people may still not believe it.)
Eh, just feeling like I was given a lot of conversational space at parties, and people occasionally asking me a bunch of questions about GiveWell research and/or what working there was like.