What are the biggest problems and issues in the world that are the most important to solve? Here's what we learned after 10 years of research.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(01:25) Why issues facing rich countries arent always the most important -- and why charity shouldnt always begin at home

(05:06) Global health: a problem where you could really make progress

(11:56) Why focusing on future generations might be even more effective than tackling global health

(14:50) One way to help future generations: avert neglected existential risks

(16:25) Biorisk: the threat from future disease

(19:02) Preventing an AI-related catastrophe

(26:30) Dealing with uncertainty and going meta

(26:52) Global priorities research

(27:40) Broad interventions, such as improved politics

(29:12) Capacity building and promoting effective altruism

(31:55) How to work out which problems you should focus on

(34:14) Apply this to your own career

(36:23) Part 6: Which jobs help people the most?

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Why Superman was wrong to fight crime – comic from SMBC.

Many people think of Superman as a hero. But he may be the greatest example of underutilised talent in all of fiction. It was a blunder to spend his life fighting crime one case at a time; if he’d thought a little more creatively, he could have done far more good. How about delivering vaccines to everyone in the world at superspeed? That would have eradicated most infectious disease, saving hundreds of millions of lives.

Here we’ll argue that a lot of people who want to “make a difference” with their career fall into the same trap as Superman. College graduates imagine becoming doctors or teachers, but these may not be the best fit for their particular skills. And like Superman fighting crime, these paths are often limited in the amount they could potentially contribute to solving a problem.

In contrast, Nobel Prize winner Karl Landsteiner discovered blood groups, enabling hundreds of millions of lifesaving operations.

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Outline:

(01:48) The bottom line

(02:39) Approach #1: Earning to give

(07:18) Should you earn to give?

(09:43) Common objections to earning to give

(12:52) Approach #2: Communication

(17:49) Approach #3: Research

(23:08) Don’t forget supporting positions

(24:39) Approach #4: Government and policy

(26:45) Approach #5: Building organisations

(31:07) What about if you want to found an organisation?

(31:45) More ideas for impactful careers

(32:22) A word of caution: power, harm, and corruption

(35:42) Which is the right approach for you?

(39:16) Conclusion: in which job can you help the most?

(40:22) Exercise: Apply this to your own career

(42:12) Recap of our career guide so far

(43:57) How can I put myself in the best position to get a high-impact job?

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One mistake many people make is to take jobs that don’t put them in a better long-term position. Why does this happen and how can you avoid it?

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(03:05) The bottom line

(06:05) Why career capital is so important

(07:40) Five components of career capital

(10:03) How can you get the best career capital? Build useful skills.

(12:51) What skills will be most valuable in the future?

(17:15) Concrete next steps for gaining career capital

(18:24) 1. Work at a growing organisation that has a reputation for high performance in your path

(23:53) 2. Go to graduate school in carefully chosen subjects

(25:42) Whats the best graduate programme for you?

(31:12) 3. Take an entry-level route into policy careers

(31:47) Tom Kalil

(33:32) 4. Do anything that lets you develop a concrete skill

(34:11) Software engineering

(34:50) Machine learning and applied AI

(36:02) Management

(37:47) Information security

(38:27) Data science and applied statistics

(39:03) Marketing

(39:45) Sales and negotiation

(41:21) Develop expertise in China or another important emerging economy

(42:14) 5. Do anything where you might excel (even if its a bit random)

(44:48) 6. Do what contributes

(47:08) Transferable vs specialist career capital

(48:18) Should you wait to have an impact?

(50:24) How can you get career capital in any job?

(50:44) Conclusion

(51:33) Apply this to your own career

(53:02) Part 8: How to find the right job for you

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Career aptitude tests and gap years don't help you find the right career. Here's a step-by-step process to work out the career that suits you best.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(01:56) The bottom line

(03:33) Being good at your job is more important than you think

(08:18) Why introspection, going with your gut, and career tests dont work

(08:25) Performance is hard to predict ahead of time

(10:07) Dont go with your gut

(12:17) Why career tests also dont work

(12:55) What does work in predicting where youll excel, according to the research?

(14:11) How can you find a job that fits? Think like a scientist.

(15:14) Make a big list of options

(16:17) Figure out your key uncertainties

(17:23) Do cheap tests first

(19:30) Try something (and iterate)

(20:37) Advanced: what are the best ways to predict career fit, according to the research?

(24:38) How much should you explore in your career?

(27:19) Explore more when youre young

(28:07) Consider trying several paths (with careful ordering)

(29:05) 1. Explore before graduate school rather than after (and put other reversible options first)

(30:21) 2. Choose options that let you experiment

(30:51) 3. Try something on the side

(31:16) 4. Consider including a wildcard

(32:19) Jess - a case study in exploring

(33:56) A rational reason to shoot for the stars

(36:21) If unsure, quit

(37:39) Apply this to your own career

(39:00) Conclusion

(40:03) Part 9: Evidence-based advice on how to succeed in any job

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Much advice on how to be successful is wrong, or useless clichés. Here we cover the best advice we've found in the last 10 years that's backed by evidence.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(02:33) 0. Learn how to do self-development

(04:32) 1. Dont forget to take care of yourself

(07:28) 2. If helpful, make mental health your top priority

(13:53) 3. Deal with your physical health (not forgetting your back!)

(15:56) 4. Set goals

(16:20) Longer-term goals

(18:00) Goals for the quarter

(19:14) Learn to prioritise

(20:52) 5. Try out this list of ways to become more productive

(22:02) How to become more motivated

(23:30) Productivity processes

(28:06) Further reading on productivity

(29:06) 6. Get better at using the latest AI tools

(32:15) 7. Improve your basic social skills

(33:54) 8. Surround yourself with great people

(37:57) Best further reading on networking

(38:49) 9. Apply scientific research into happiness

(43:39) 10. Use these tips to save more money

(46:19) 11. Use research into decision-making to think better

(51:11) 12. Learn how to learn

(56:11) 13. Be strategic about how you use your time at work

(59:01) 14. Become an expert

(01:01:05) 15. Become a better person

(01:07:24) The compounding benefits of investing in yourself

(01:08:44) Put into practice

(01:09:11) Part 10: How to make your career plan

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Detailed long-term career plans can be harmful, but it's still good to have some idea where you're going. Here's how to write out your plan.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(02:18) The bottom line

(04:12) Dont keep your options open

(05:15) The three key stages to a career

(07:17) Have a longer-term vision

(09:47) Spend longer planning your next steps

(11:33) Working backwards: if you know your long-term vision, work out how to get there

(12:51) Working forwards: look at the opportunities immediately in front of you

(15:46) Have backup options: the A/B/Z plan

(16:50) 1. Plan A: your ideal scenario

(17:39) 2. Plan B: nearby alternatives

(18:48) 3. Plan Z: if it all \*\*\*\*s up, this is your temporary fallback

(20:06) Optional: further ways to reduce risk

(22:19) Set a review point

(24:00) Apply this to your own career

(27:06) Part 11: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

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A step-by-step guide to how to get a job, based on all the best advice we could find and what we've learned coaching thousands of people.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(01:40) The bottom line

(03:48) Stage 1: Leads

(04:03) You need a lot of leads

(07:03) How to get leads: dont just cold email your CV, use connections

(09:59) How to get referrals

(14:16) Recruiters and listings

(14:48) Stage 2: Conversion

(15:50) When the process is highly standardised

(16:57) Just do the work

(17:18) Do a portfolio project

(17:42) The pre-interview project

(19:03) Trial period

(19:25) Go for a nearby position

(20:17) How to prepare for interviews

(24:35) Improve and adapt your process

(25:52) Stage 3: Negotiation

(27:53) How to negotiate

(28:55) Negotiate after youve started

(29:17) Learn more about how to negotiate

(29:48) Have a plan to stay motivated

(31:37) Check out our advice on different jobs

(31:53) Never job hunt again

(32:35) Conclusion

(32:51) Apply this to your own career

(33:35) Part 12: A powerful way to improve your career: Join a community.

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Not many students are in a position to start a successful, cost-effective charity straight out of a philosophy degree. But when Thomas attended an “effective altruism” conference in London in 2018, he discovered an opportunity to start a nonprofit that could have a major impact on factory farmed animals.

Through the community, he received advice and funding, and ended up in an incubation programme. Today, Thomas’s charity, the Fish Welfare Initiative, has reduced the suffering of around one million factory farmed fish, and has an annual budget of over half a million dollars.Fish Welfare Initiative’s donate page says that they managed to fully fund their 2023 budget, which they estimated at $662,385.

Its impact page estimates that it’s “potentially helped” approximately 1.13 million fish.

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Outline:

(01:30) Why joining a community is so helpful

(04:02) Finding the right community for you

(06:26) How can the effective altruism community boost your career?

(12:19) How to get involved in effective altruism

(13:05) Ways to meet people

(15:03) Other communities you may want to consider joining

(16:28) How can communities work together more effectively?

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We summarise our entire career guide in one minute.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(01:25) The entire guide, in one minute

(04:34) Get help making your plan by speaking to our team one-on-one

(05:00) Go beyond the basics

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Explore how careers in biosecurity research, strategy, and policy can help reduce biorisks like engineered pandemics.

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(01:35) Enter your email and we'll mail you a book (for free).

(02:26) Recommended

(02:35) Review status

(02:40) Why might biorisk careers be high impact?

(04:17) What does this path involve?

(05:01) An overview of biorisk careers

(05:50) Biorisk policy careers

(07:39) Biorisk technical careers

(09:55) Other careers

(10:22) How to assess your fit

(11:46) General guidance

(19:12) Find jobs in biorisk research, strategy, and policy

(19:27) Learn more

(19:30) Top recommendations

(20:05) Further recommendations

(20:11) Key further reading

(20:29) Other resources

(21:55) Learn about other high-impact careers

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