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- Key ideas Understand what makes for a high-impact career.
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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?
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- Problem profiles Find out about the world's biggest and most neglected problems.
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  Top areas to work on
  Positively shaping the development of AI
  Global priorities research
  Building effective altruism
  Reducing the risk of catastrophic pandemics
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  Extreme climate change
  Other promising areas
  Mitigating great power conflict
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  Space governance
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  Go to problems hub →
- Career reviews Learn about high-impact career paths.
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  Key categories of impactful careers
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  Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
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  List of top-recommended career paths
  AI safety technical research
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  Founder of new projects
  Helping build the effective altruism community
  Grantmaker
  Operations management in high-impact organisations
  Research into global priorities
  Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
  China-related AI safety and governance
  Forecasting research and implementation
  Sometimes-recommended paths
  High-impact but especially competitive
  Promising but under-researched
  Impactful if you’re an especially good fit
  Recommended career capital
  Steps to build your skills and network
  Making the most of your current job
  Doing good in any career
  How to invest in yourself
  See all our career reviews →
- Planning & decision making Use our tools to make concrete plans.
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  Create a high-impact career plan
  8-week career planning course
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  Make good career decisions
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- Browse all our content Pick a topic to explore or check out our most popular pieces.
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  How many lives does a doctor save?
  What's the impact of voting?
  Advice for undergraduates
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  2017 career guide
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Read the full guide →
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 →
Go to problems hub →
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 →
See all our career reviews →
Key categories of impactful careers
Government and policy
Organisation-building at effective nonprofits
Research
Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
Communication
Earning to give
List of top-recommended career paths
AI safety technical research
Long-term AI policy
Founder of new projects
Helping build the effective altruism community
Grantmaker
Operations management in high-impact organisations
Research into global priorities
Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
China-related AI safety and governance
Forecasting research and implementation
Sometimes-recommended paths
High-impact but especially competitive
Promising but under-researched
Impactful if you’re an especially good fit
Recommended career capital
Steps to build your skills and network
Making the most of your current job
Doing good in any career
How to invest in yourself
See all our career reviews →
See all planning resources →
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 →
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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- Effective Altruism: An Introduction
- Effective Altruism: Ten Global Problems
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Topic archive: Finance

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Asset Management (7)
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Investment Banking (8)

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April

#127 – Sam Bankman-Fried on taking a high-risk approach to crypto and doing good
Podcast

March

Engineering
Career review

2021

October

Earning to give in a high-paying role, such as quantitative trading
Career review

2017

August

#5 – Alex Gordon-Brown on how to donate millions in your 20s working in quantitative trading
Podcast

May

How much do hedge fund traders earn?
Blog post
Which industry has the highest-paying jobs?
Article

April

Why and how to earn to give (Updated)
Article

2015

July

Is wealth inequality so extreme that it’s OK to be a ruthless trader?
Blog post
80,000 Hours thinks that only a small proportion of people should earn to give long term
Blog post

February

The Chronicle of Higher Education on who gets ‘elite’ jobs
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2014

September

Update: In which career can you make the most difference?
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Why and how to earn to give (First published)
Article

February

Case study: earning to give compared to medical research
Blog post

January

Case study: can I earn more in software or finance?
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2013

November

Case study: Working in the financial sector to promote a flourishing long-term future
Blog post

October

Why consider becoming a trader?
Blog post

July

Show me the harm
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January

Trading, donating and charter cities: An interview with Ben Gilbert
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2012

January

Is banking harmful?
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80,000 Hours is part of the Centre for Effective Altruism, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1149828) and a registered 501(c)(3) Exempt Organization in the USA (EIN 47-1988398).

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 and privacy policy.