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Top areas to work on
Preventing an AI-related catastrophe
Catastrophic pandemics
Nuclear weapons
Great power war
Factory farming
Global priorities research
Building effective altruism
Improving decision making
Emerging challenges
The moral status of digital minds
AI-enabled power grabs
S-risks
Space governance
Risks of stable totalitarianism
Gradual disempowerment
Civilisation resilience
Wild animal suffering
Other pressing problems
Global health
Climate change
See all problem profiles →
See all →
Top skills to build early in your career
Policy and politics
Organisation-building
Research
Communicating ideas
Software and tech
Engineering
Experience with an emerging power
Expertise relevant to a top problem
See all our skills pages →
See all →
Our list of top high-impact career paths
AI governance and policy
AI safety technical research
Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
Information security in high-impact areas
Expert in AI hardware
China-related AI safety and governance
Grantmaker
Helping build the effective altruism community
Nuclear weapons safety and security
Operations in high-impact organisations
Research into global priorities
Other promising paths
Be a founder
Software engineering
Journalism
See more →
How to build great career capital
See our top recommendations →
See all career reviews →
Read the full series →
Introduction
Your most important decision
Foundations
A definition of impact
Longtermism
Harmful jobs
Global priorities
Problem selection
Existential risks
Top problems list
Contribution
How to think about your contribution
Effective solutions
List of high-impact careers
Personal fit
Gut instinct
Differences in productivity
Comparative advantage
Strategy
Ambition
Coordination
Exploration
Impact and satisfaction
Accidental harm
Read the full series →
Career planning and decision making
How to make your career plan
All our other planning resources
Selected topics
Moral philosophy
Career capital
Job satisfaction
Anonymous advice
Unconventional advice
Advocacy
Existential risk
Top-recommended careers
See all topics →
Top articles from outside our guides
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 →
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Home Authors Jess Whittlestone

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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!
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July

Your career is like a startup
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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
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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?
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When to “go with your gut” in career choice
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February

Bringing it all together: high impact research management
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Two questions you won’t want to ask yourself but should
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Advice on going into a research career: An interview with Richard Thaler
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January

Encourage discussion, not defensiveness
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How to make a difference in research: An interview with Nick Bostrom
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3 ways to broaden your career horizons
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Are you cheating career choice?
Blog post

2012

December

The power of effective activism
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Our research on how to find a job you love
Blog post
How to judge your chances of success
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Want to be successful? Know your odds.
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How to choose a research topic: An interview with Anders Sandberg
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November

Do you think you’re better than average?
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Triumphs of intuition
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A formula for the perfect job?
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Should we stop interviewing people?
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September

Do you really know what job will make you happy?
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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
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Blog posts34
Career reviews1

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