80,000 Hours - Narrations

The main career paths, what to study, where to apply, how to get started, what topics are most in need of research, and what progress has been made in the field so far. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:36) Why we wrote this (03:18) What is an AI policy career? (04:01) Short-term vs. long-term issues (06:36) Concrete questions in AI policy we need to answer (06:49) What capabilities might AIs devel...

Hedge fund trading may be the highest paying job in the world, so to learn more, we spoke with a former manager at one of the world’s leading hedge funds. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:24) How do hedge funds make money and how is it shared among the employees? (04:44) How much do traders actually get? (09:47) Sense checks (11:32) What would the expected earnings be for someone entering the indu...

If you're committed to making a difference with your career, you may well find that there is a tension between doing good now and laying the groundwork for doing good later. For example: Next year, you have two choices. You could work for an effective charity, making an immediate difference to its beneficiaries. Or you could go to graduate school and build up your career capital, (hopefully) allow...

How can you compare two career options in terms of how satisfying and high-impact they'll be? It can seem near impossible to make comparisons like this, and it's true that it's hard. But we think it's still possible to make a lot of progress. In this article, we show how to break the comparison down into four factors. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:00) Summary (01:37) How can we compare differen...

This article has been replaced and expanded in a new piece of our career guide: All the evidence-based advice we found on how to be successful in any job. Narrated by AI. --- First published: May 28th, 2016 Last updated: April 7th, 2017 Source: https://80000hours.org/articles/career-capital-in-any-job --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO .

Over the last couple of decades, a large and growing body of research has emerged which shows that our decisions are far from rational. We did a survey of this research to find out what it means for your career decisions. It turns out that we likely don't know as much as we think we do, are overconfident, tend to think too narrowly and continue with paths that are no longer best for us. We need to...

Taking a job that gives you the ability to promote and unite people behind important ideas - advocacy - is often a good way to have an impact. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:01) Why is advocacy a high-impact path? (05:00) What's the best way to become an advocate? (07:10) 1. Political and policy positions (09:23) 2. Positions with a public platform (10:43) 3. Managers and grantmakers at influent...

Do you want to work in health, but don't fancy nursing or medical school? Meet the ‘Allied Health Professions’. These are the people who helped your sister overcome her stutter (speech pathologists), prescribed your friend their glasses (optometrists), and took the x-ray that time you stubbed your toe so hard you thought you’d broken it (diagnostic radiographers). Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:...

Below is a list of books, essays and resources which we have found helpful in drawing up our career guide, and which we hope will help if you'd like to go into more detail. Enjoying your job and altruism Stumbling Upon Happiness, by Prof. Dan Gilbert, outlines the science of measuring happiness, and explains why we're so bad at judging what will make us happy. Flourish, by Prof. Narrated by AI. --...

Product management is one of the best non-programming roles in the tech industry. It pays well and builds skills widely-applicable skills. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (00:32) Pros (00:58) Cons (01:12) Key facts on fit (01:29) Next steps (01:55) Sometimes recommended (02:04) Review status (02:09) What's this based on? (02:41) What is this career path? (05:26) How does it differ fro...

This is a syllabus of relevant background reading material and courses related to AI safety. It is intended as a guide for undergraduates in mathematics and computer science. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:32) Want to work on AI safety? We want to help. (01:47) Reading List (09:36) Degree (09:39) Undergraduate Degree (11:31) PhD (12:36) Google AI residency program (13:40) Research Groups (14:48)...

Here's a collection of the most useful email scripts we've found for asking for introductions and small favours from people you don't know. It's a work in progress. Send suggestions on what to include to ben@80000hours.org. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:17) How to ask for an introduction (00:21) A basic script from the Muse (00:59) Scott Britton (01:08) How to set up an informational interview...

Research shows that "follow your passion" is often bad advice. We explain why and how to do better. Narrated by AI. --- First published: September 18th, 2014 Last updated: May 26th, 2016 Source: https://80000hours.org/articles/dont-follow-your-passion --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO .

Smoking takes an enormous toll on human health - accounting for about 6% of all ill-health globally according to the best estimates. This is more than HIV and malaria combined. Despite this, smoking is on the rise in many developing countries as people become richer and can afford to buy cigarettes. There appears to be a range of policies which have been shown to reduce smoking rates, which are us...

Every year around ten million people in poorer countries die of illnesses that can be very cheaply prevented or managed, including malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and diarrhoea. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:08) Summary (01:08) Our overall view (02:12) What is the problem? (02:36) Why is this problem pressing? (02:40) What is our recommendation based on? (03:10) Why is it pressing? (04:52) What are...

It's said "money can't buy happiness," but we've all felt the pull of financial success -- so what's the truth? Here's what science has to say. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:18) Introduction (01:12) Summary of main points (03:42) Are richer people more satisfied with their lives? (07:33) OK, but are richer people happier? (11:31) What can make sense of these results? (14:31) So would making mor...

Web designer salaries are reasonable - the median in the US is around $55,000 (see more on salaries below). As a backup to direct work, you could move into UX design, where the median is around $80,000... Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (01:05) Pros (01:37) Cons (01:55) Key facts on fit (02:08) Next steps (02:25) Sometimes recommended (02:35) Review status (02:40) Research process (03...

Executive Search firms aim to fill senior roles within other organisations, most often large companies or professional services firms. We think executive search (a.k.a. headhunting) could be a good option for those who want to earn to give, desire work-life balance, and whose main strengths are verbal and social skills. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (00:40) Pros (00:59) Cons (01:22)...

Pros and cons of being a nurse, who should become one, and how to do so. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:08) Summary (01:00) Pros (01:20) Cons (01:37) Key facts on fit (01:50) Next steps (02:11) Not usually recommended (02:20) Review status (02:26) Notes (02:40) What is this job? (03:36) What are the pros of this job? (06:07) What are the cons? (07:44) Remaining uncertainties (08:21) Who should c...

Interested in understanding how the human body works? Become a biomedical researcher to find new ways to improve people’s health. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (01:03) Pros (01:20) Cons (01:37) Key facts on fit (01:50) Next steps (02:05) Sometimes recommended (02:15) Review status (02:20) What is this career path? (03:44) How did we research this career? (04:20) Why should you do bi...

Foundation grantmakers help foundations decide where to make donations. They influence large amounts of money ($10M/year at large foundations), though they are often highly constrained in where they can allocate grants. They can also influence the direction of non-profits, build expertise and connections in a cause and make use of generous donation matching schemes for their personal giving. If yo...

Medicine is a highly paid and highly satisfying career. However, working in medicine has a modest direct impact, and relative to the cost and time required for medical training, it has mediocre 'exit opportunities' to other career paths, and provides little platform for advocacy. It is also highly competitive. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (00:55) Pros (01:24) Cons (01:59) Key facts...

Actuarial science could be a good option for someone who wants to earn to give, has strong quantitative skills, and values security and work-life balance. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (00:41) Pros (00:55) Cons (01:15) Key facts on fit (01:27) Next steps (01:50) Not usually recommended (01:59) Review status (02:04) What is this career? (02:34) Reasons in favour of an actuarial caree...

While there is the potential for huge earnings, advocacy power and direct impact, the odds are stacked against even very talented individuals. A very large number of people attempt to achieve success in the arts for reasons unrelated to its social impact, making it unlikely to be a neglected area. For most people, a career in arts and entertainment is unlikely to be the path with the highest poten...

Better teachers lead to better economic outcomes, higher attendance at better universities and lower teenage birth rates ... however, we generally do not recommend teaching as the best career path to maximize your social impact... Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:08) Summary (01:17) Pros (01:54) Cons (02:19) Key facts on fit (02:32) Next steps (02:59) Not usually recommended (03:08) Review status...