Agree with Josh’s take on Jews in EA and Effective Tzedakah (though I’d agree strictly speaking the concept of tzedakah is at least broader than charitable giving). I think “Effective Altruism and Judaism” (maybe EAJ?) is my favorite! That said, RE “EA for Jews”—any chance you can ask the folks at EA for Christians how they feel the name has worked out for them?
JeremyR
Karma: 154
I’ve never taken part in a reading group (outside of seminars and the like in undergrad), and have no plans to do so, and yet I really enjoyed reading this piece! Thoughtfully and clearly laid out, with novel ideas I hadn’t come across before. I’ll be sure to pass it on to friends who take part.
I’m glad Aaron nudged you to write this and that he included it in his digest email!
Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply Ben!
I’m not the most risk-seeking, so I think I’ll need to reflect on the trade-off of taking a more indirect route in the hopes of landing an EA role while giving up the “capital” I’m told I have for my first role post-consulting. Will mull over what you’ve shared!
Thanks! I actually ran through the whole 80k job board a few weeks back, but I like your filters (and am seeing a few new roles already). I’ll give the talk a listen (and the article a read); thanks for sharing!
Hi all
I’m wondering if folks have suggestions for what EA organizations and / or roles could best leverage the skill set of management consultants? There are quite a few of us interested in EA and it’s a job with relatively high churn (plenty of folks open to opportunities!), but I’m not sure there’s much of a “pipeline” from consulting to EA today.
Back in the day—when I was already planning to enter the industry - an 80,000 Hours quiz result suggested management consulting, and I’ve been doing the job which I’ve generally enjoyed for the last 5+ years. I’ve been earning to give, but would like to explore potential for direct work—just not sure where my experience / skills could best translate.
Here’s my LinkedIn page and I’m happy to share a resume with detailed experience if useful. But, in short, I went to a top US university (no grad degree), jumped to a top management consulting firm, and have worked across most major industries (energy, healthcare, finance, retail, private equity, etc.) across a range of for-profit organizations.
For those at roughly my tenure who leave consulting for the private sector, the most likely next step is “middle management” (e.g., Director roles) in corporate strategy. In terms of concrete skills, I’d say my strengths are in verbal communications, managing varied stakeholders, operating in ambiguous environments / learning quickly, “soft” analysis (i.e., Excel), developing presentations, and coaching --> skills that I think most large corporations value but which aren’t exactly differentiating or suggestive of particular roles within EA. I’m also not sure if there are many EA organizations big enough to have a “middle management” cohort (i.e., supervising teams, but not leading an organization).
I’m especially passionate about helping others think about their own giving and the financial side of maximizing donations / minimizing taxes. If I had my druthers, my ranked preferences within EA would probably be: meta-EA, direct global health / poverty work, and x-risks toward the bottom (uncouth, I know).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
Yasher Koach—I’m a fan! As an Orthodox Jew myself I’ve been collecting some EA-relevant halakhic/biblical texts on this “source sheet” to eventually get back around to. It needs a lot of fleshing out, not to mention much clearer structure; perhaps this project will be the kick in the pants I’ve needed.
I’m personally still grappling with the same sorts of tension referenced in Raffi’s post (linked above). Though I think a number of halakhic texts align quite neatly with an EA direction, a very well-known / internalized notion in the Orthodox Jewish world is the concept of aniyei ircha kodmim—the poor of your city come first i.e., proximity matters, which of course is… less well-aligned to EA thinking.
Given that, I think there’s particular value in shining a light on some of those halakhic sources which emphasize the relative weighting of need and/or imperative to save lives to help foster more critical thinking among Orthodox Jews with regard to their giving, careers, volunteering etc. Hopeful that can be folded into this project!