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35. Ben Todd on Choosing a Career and Defining Longtermism

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Ben Todd is the CEO & founder of 80,000 Hours, and helped to start the effective altruism movement.

80,000 Hours is a non-profit that provides free research and support to help people find careers that effectively tackle the world’s most pressing problems.

In our interview, we discuss:

  • Why your choice of career could be the most important ethical decision you ever get to make;
  • 80K’s ‘problem, solution, personal fit’ framework for choosing a career;
  • Whether longtermism should be considered a research project or a social movement;
  • The idea of using leverage to multiply the difference you're able to make.

    • Note that if you don't need to hear an introduction to the key ideas of 80,000 Hours, you can skip to about the 34-minute mark.

    You can read more about the topics we cover this episode's write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/ben.

    Key links mentioned in the interview:

    • The 80,000 Hours website
    • A (free) weekly career planning course for positive impact
    • The 80,000 Hours 'Key Ideas' series
    • The 80,000 Hours job board
    • The 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin

      • If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this — it's the best free way to support the show. If you want to support the show more directly, consider leaving a tip.

      Thanks for listening!

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