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Understand what makes for a high-impact career.
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This could be the most important century
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The best solutions are far more effective
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Fit is more important than you think
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What is career capital?
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Coordination and impact
Balancing impact and doing what you love
Aim higher: a rational case for dreaming big
Three career stages
Conclusion
How much do careers differ in impact?
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What's the impact of voting?
Advice for undergraduates
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2017 career guide
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Introduction
Your most important decision
Summary
Foundations
A definition of impact
Future generations & their moral significance
Effective altruism
Global priorities
Why problem selection is crucial
The case for reducing existential risks
This could be the most important century
Our current list of pressing problems
Solutions
The best solutions are far more effective
Leverage
What is leverage, and how to get it?
Our list of high-impact careers
Personal fit
Fit is more important than you think
Strategy
What is career capital?
How much to explore?
Coordination and impact
Balancing impact and doing what you love
Aim higher: a rational case for dreaming big
Three career stages
Conclusion
How much do careers differ in impact?
Read the full guide →
Top areas to work on
Positively shaping the development of AI
Global priorities research
Building effective altruism
Reducing the risk of catastrophic pandemics
Nuclear security
Improving institutional decision making
Extreme climate change
Other promising areas
Mitigating great power conflict
Global governance
Space governance
See all →
Go to problems hub →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.
Key categories of high-impact careers
Research in relevant areas
Government & policy
Working at effective non-profits
Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
Earning to give
Recommended paths
The highest-impact career paths we know about
More promising career ideas
How to apply your existing skills
Making the most of your current job
Doing good in any career
How to invest in yourself
See all our career reviews →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.
Create a high-impact career plan
8-week career planning course
Summary
Career plan template
Annual career check-up
Make good career decisions
Make an immediate decision
Improve your decision-making skills
See all planning resources →
Join our newsletter to get weekly updates on research, events, and high-impact job openings.
Selected topics
Moral philosophy
Skills
Job satisfaction
Anonymous advice
Unconventional advice
What to study
Advocacy
Catastrophic risks
Meta-causes
Priority paths
See all topics →
Top articles from outside our guides
What makes for a dream job?
Best charities to donate to
Misconceptions about effective altruism
High-impact research questions
What are your chances of getting elected to Congress, if you try?
How many lives does a doctor save?
What's the impact of voting?
Advice for undergraduates
All articles →
2017 career guide
All career guide pages →
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The 80,000 Hours team
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2020
December
Career planning and decision making – all our best resources
Article
November
A (free) weekly career planning course for positive impact
Article
June
What 80,000 Hours learned by anonymously interviewing people we respect
Blog post
April
Policy and research ideas to reduce existential risk
Blog post
Essential Facts and Figures – COVID-19
Article
2019
December
What’s the best charity to donate to?
Article
2018
November
ML engineering for AI safety & robustness: a Google Brain engineer’s guide to entering the field
Article
March
Video: The world’s biggest problems and why they’re not what first comes to mind
Article
2017
June
Guide to working in AI policy and strategy
Article
March
Some further resources on high-impact careers
Article
2016
August
AI safety syllabus
Article
2015
April
Management Consulting
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