What is going on at 80,000 Hours?
NOTE: This piece is now out of date. More current information on our plans and impact can be found on our Evaluations page.
This is an exciting time for 80,000 Hours. One month ago we took on our first full-time staff members. Over this summer there will be six of us working full-time on 80,000 Hours:
Will MacAskill President working on content writing and research, external relations and strategy
Benjamin Todd Managing Director helping the rest of the team and writing content
Richard Batty intern working on developing the 80,000 Hours website and community, our careers advice service and assisting members
Jake Nebel intern researching and writing about the crucial considerations in picking research careers
Ilan Fischer intern working on researching animal welfare as a cause and helping people to find careers that reduce animal suffering
Bastian Stern intern working with Ben and Will conducting and writing up research, currently on the methodological questions of cost-effective giving
We also have the support of several great part-time volunteers and staff shared with Giving What We Can, in particular the vital operations team!
This means we have far more manpower than ever before. The most visible sign will be more blog activity we’ll have three posts per week, so check back regularly! We’ll use the blog for the first airing of ideas that will ultimately turn into website content. Much, much more is going on behind the scenes. First, there’s a great deal of operations to set up and training that’s going on, which will enable faster growth in the future. Second, we’re developing the 80,000 Hours concept to make it better adapted to people’s needs. Third, we’ve surveyed existing careers guidance to work out the best niche for effective altruist careers guidance, and started researching a bunch of ways to make a difference.
What are our goals over the next year? One big goal is to write a comprehensive book on evidence-based, effectiveness-focused careers advice for those who want to make a difference but don’t know how best to do so. We want to get this content into every major careers service in the UK and USA. Alongside the book, we’re developing a free, in-depth, one-on-one advice service for those wondering about how to best make a difference, whether with their careers, volunteering or philanthropy. We’ll have further posts explaining our research and career counseling plans in more depth.
We’ll also be starting chapters in Princeton and Yale and Cambridge and intensifying our involvement in Oxford. The first 80,000 Hours meet-up was recently held in Vancouver, and we’ll be starting similar groups in several other cities.
We’re really excited about what the future will bring.
If you’d like to get involved, or have questions, then get in touch at [email protected]