80,000 Hours 80,000 Hours
  • Career guide
  • AI & the future
  • Podcast
  • Job board
  • Resources
    • Problem profiles What are the world's most pressing problems?
      See all →
      Top areas to work on
      • AI takeover
      • Catastrophic pandemics
      • Nuclear weapons
      • Great power war
      • Factory farming
      Emerging challenges
      • The moral status of digital minds
      • AI-enabled power grabs
      • S-risks
      • Space governance
      • Gradual disempowerment
      More problem profiles →
    • Career reviews Write-ups on high-impact career paths.
      See all →
      AI-focused career paths
      • AI governance and policy
      • AI safety technical research
      • Information security in high-impact areas
      • Expert in AI hardware
      • China-related AI safety and governance
      Other top paths
      • Journalism
      • Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
      • Be a founder
      • Earn to give
      • Help build the effective altruism community
      • Research into global priorities
      • Nuclear weapons safety and security
      • Operations in high-impact organisations
      More career reviews →
    • Foundations What's the philosophy behind our advice?
      Key topics
      • Your career is your most important decision
      • A definition of impact
      • On problem selection
      • Why prioritise existential risks
      • Effective solutions
      • Making a big contribution
      • Differences in productivity
      • Comparative advantage
      • Being ambitious
      • Coordination
      • Exploration
      • Harmful jobs
      • Fundamentals of career planning
      See the full series →
    See all →
    Top areas to work on
    • AI takeover
    • Catastrophic pandemics
    • Nuclear weapons
    • Great power war
    • Factory farming
    Emerging challenges
    • The moral status of digital minds
    • AI-enabled power grabs
    • S-risks
    • Space governance
    • Gradual disempowerment
    More problem profiles →
    See all →
    AI-focused career paths
    • AI governance and policy
    • AI safety technical research
    • Information security in high-impact areas
    • Expert in AI hardware
    • China-related AI safety and governance
    Other top paths
    • Journalism
    • Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
    • Be a founder
    • Earn to give
    • Help build the effective altruism community
    • Research into global priorities
    • Nuclear weapons safety and security
    • Operations in high-impact organisations
    More career reviews →
    Key topics
    • Your career is your most important decision
    • A definition of impact
    • On problem selection
    • Why prioritise existential risks
    • Effective solutions
    • Making a big contribution
    • Differences in productivity
    • Comparative advantage
    • Being ambitious
    • Coordination
    • Exploration
    • Harmful jobs
    • Fundamentals of career planning
    See the full series →
  • Get 1-1 advice
  • Get 1-1 advice
  • New releases
  • All articles
  • Give feedback
  • About
    • About us
    • Meet the team
    • Our impact and credibility
    • Our mistakes
    • Our donors
    • Contact us
    • Support us
    • Work with us
Home Authors Jess Whittlestone
  • New releases
  • All articles
  • Give feedback
  • About
    • About us
    • Meet the team
    • Our impact and credibility
    • Our mistakes
    • Our donors
    • Contact us
    • Support us
    • Work with us

Author archive: Jess Whittlestone

  • All35
  • Blog posts34
  • Career reviews1

2023

December
  • Academic research (Updated)
    Career review

2018

October
  • Academic research (First published)
    Career review

2013

October
  • Why I’m doing a PhD
    Blog post
  • More on What Really Matters for Finding a Job You Love
    Blog post
September
  • Should more altruists consider entrepreneurship?
    Blog post
  • Making a difference through social entrepreneurship: an interview with Tom Rippin
    Blog post
August
  • Introduction to our career model
    Blog post
  • We’re looking for a Director of Fundraising and a Finance Manager!
    Blog post
July
  • Your career is like a startup
    Blog post
  • 80,000 Hours is hiring!
    Blog post
June
  • Want to make a real difference in development? AidGrade is hiring!
    Blog post
  • How to add value in international development: an interview with Eva Vivalt
    Blog post
May
  • What should I read if I’m new?
    Blog post
  • Biases: how they affect your career decisions, and what to do about them
    Blog post
April
  • How much is 50p worth to you?
    Blog post
March
  • Should you plan your career?
    Blog post
  • When to “go with your gut” in career choice
    Blog post
February
  • Bringing it all together: high impact research management
    Blog post
  • Two questions you won’t want to ask yourself but should
    Blog post
  • Advice on going into a research career: An interview with Richard Thaler
    Blog post
January
  • Encourage discussion, not defensiveness
    Blog post
  • How to make a difference in research: An interview with Nick Bostrom
    Blog post
  • 3 ways to broaden your career horizons
    Blog post
  • Are you cheating career choice?
    Blog post

2012

December
  • The power of effective activism
    Blog post
  • Our research on how to find a job you love
    Blog post
  • How to judge your chances of success
    Blog post
  • Want to be successful? Know your odds.
    Blog post
  • How to choose a research topic: An interview with Anders Sandberg
    Blog post
November
  • Do you think you’re better than average?
    Blog post
  • Triumphs of intuition
    Blog post
  • A formula for the perfect job?
    Blog post
  • Should we stop interviewing people?
    Blog post
September
  • Do you really know what job will make you happy?
    Blog post
August
  • Should we sacrifice doing what we love to make a difference? part 2
    Blog post
  • Should we sacrifice doing what we love to make a difference? part 1
    Blog post
  • All35
  • Blog posts34
  • Career reviews1

Join our newsletter

Get weekly updates on our research, plus jobs and other opportunities to get involved.

Get 1-1 advice

Want to tackle a pressing global problem with your career?

Speak to an advisor

Our research

  • Start here
  • Career guide
  • List of world problems
  • List of top skills
  • List of careers
  • Advanced series
  • Future generations
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Anonymous advice
  • College advice
  • New releases
  • All our research
  • Translations of our content

Follow us

  • Podcast
  • 80k After Hours
  • Newsletter
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn group
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Take action

  • Find a job
  • Get 1-1 advice
  • Make a career plan

About us

  • Why 80,000 Hours?
  • Meet the team
  • Our impact and credibility
  • Our mistakes
  • Our donors
  • Contact us
  • Support us

80,000 Hours Limited is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (with registered company number 15746854).

Please contact us to suggest ideas, improvements, or corrections.

We do our best to provide useful information, but how you use the information is up to you. We don’t take responsibility for any loss that results from the use of information on the site. Please consult our full legal disclaimer, website privacy notice, and terms of use. See also our cookie notice and adjust your .

© 2025 – all rights reserved. Please contact us if you wish to redistribute, translate, or adapt this work.

The Economist logo FT logo The Guardian logo TED logo Vox logo Y Combinator logo