The Nonlinear Library EA - Advice for early-career people seeking jobs in EA by Julia Wise
Jun 20, 2024
Julia Wise, writer and EA contributor, shares valuable tips for early-career individuals seeking jobs in Effective Altruism. The podcast covers job-seeking strategies, networking advice, career decisions, and opportunities in sectors like animal advocacy and emerging technologies.
03:38
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Advice for early-career people seeking jobs in EA, published by Julia Wise on June 20, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum.
This is a roundup of writing that I think might be useful to students and early-career people seeking EA-related jobs or internships. It's a mix of advice that would apply in most professional spaces, and advice that orients readers to the ways EA professional spaces are unusual.
When job-seeking
Things to check about a job or internship
(Julia Wise)
When in doubt, apply*
(Vaidehi Agarwalla)
Things I did in my job search I recommend
(Chana Messinger)
Advice I give to people who don't currently have an EA job and are thinking of transitioning
(Chana Messinger)
Test fit for roles / job types / work types, not cause areas
(freedomandutility)
Creative EA job hunting: things you can do in addition to filling out job applications
(Sofia Balderson)
Applying for grants
Things for grant applicants to remember about living expenses
(Julia Wise0
Networking advice
Tips for asking people for things
(Ben Kuhn)
Advice for interacting with busy people
(Severin)
Advice for getting the most out of one-on-ones
(Marisa)
Post EAG(x): Making the most out of your connections
(Simon27)
Setbacks
After one year of applying for EA jobs: It is really, really hard to get hired by an EA organisation
(EA applicant)
Celebrating rejection
(rcohen)
Why you might be getting rejected from (junior) operations jobs
(Eli Nathan)
Mindset / taking care of your needs
My experience with imposter syndrome - and how to (partly) overcome it
(Luisa Rodriguez)
Advice to a new EA org employee
(Julia Wise)
If you're unhappy, consider leaving
(Justis)
Don't Be Bycatch
(DirectedEvolution)
General
80,000 Hours' new series on building skills
(80,000 Hours)
Summary of 80,000 Hours' key ideas
(80,000 Hours)
How to make tough career decisions (80,000 Hours)
Avoiding 10 mistakes people make when pursuing a high-impact career (Alex Lawsen on the 80k After Hours Podcast)
How to Signal Competence in Your Early-Stage Career (CCW 2023)
A general non-EA resource:
Ask a Manager
While in undergraduate
80,000 Hours' advice for undergraduates
(80,000 Hours)
Many Undergrads Should Take Light Courseloads
(Mau)
Specific paths
Maybe let the non-EA world train you
(ElliotTep)
The highest-impact career paths our research has identified so far (80,000 Hours)
More undergraduate or just-graduated students should consider getting jobs as research techs in academic labs
(JVB)
Difficult to get a job in EA not living in the West? Animal advocacy careers can impact millions of animals anywhere in the world
(Animal Advocacy Careers)
U.S. EAs Should Consider Applying to Join U.S. Diplomacy
(Abi Olvera, Dan Spoko)
Early career people should consider joining fast-growing startups in emerging technologies
(Bill Z)
List of Short-Term (<15 hours) Biosecurity Projects to Test Your Fit
(Sofya Lebedeva)
Job/internship boards
80,000 Hours job board
Probably Good job board
EA Opportunities
List of other job boards
Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org
This is a roundup of writing that I think might be useful to students and early-career people seeking EA-related jobs or internships. It's a mix of advice that would apply in most professional spaces, and advice that orients readers to the ways EA professional spaces are unusual.
When job-seeking
Things to check about a job or internship
(Julia Wise)
When in doubt, apply*
(Vaidehi Agarwalla)
Things I did in my job search I recommend
(Chana Messinger)
Advice I give to people who don't currently have an EA job and are thinking of transitioning
(Chana Messinger)
Test fit for roles / job types / work types, not cause areas
(freedomandutility)
Creative EA job hunting: things you can do in addition to filling out job applications
(Sofia Balderson)
Applying for grants
Things for grant applicants to remember about living expenses
(Julia Wise0
Networking advice
Tips for asking people for things
(Ben Kuhn)
Advice for interacting with busy people
(Severin)
Advice for getting the most out of one-on-ones
(Marisa)
Post EAG(x): Making the most out of your connections
(Simon27)
Setbacks
After one year of applying for EA jobs: It is really, really hard to get hired by an EA organisation
(EA applicant)
Celebrating rejection
(rcohen)
Why you might be getting rejected from (junior) operations jobs
(Eli Nathan)
Mindset / taking care of your needs
My experience with imposter syndrome - and how to (partly) overcome it
(Luisa Rodriguez)
Advice to a new EA org employee
(Julia Wise)
If you're unhappy, consider leaving
(Justis)
Don't Be Bycatch
(DirectedEvolution)
General
80,000 Hours' new series on building skills
(80,000 Hours)
Summary of 80,000 Hours' key ideas
(80,000 Hours)
How to make tough career decisions (80,000 Hours)
Avoiding 10 mistakes people make when pursuing a high-impact career (Alex Lawsen on the 80k After Hours Podcast)
How to Signal Competence in Your Early-Stage Career (CCW 2023)
A general non-EA resource:
Ask a Manager
While in undergraduate
80,000 Hours' advice for undergraduates
(80,000 Hours)
Many Undergrads Should Take Light Courseloads
(Mau)
Specific paths
Maybe let the non-EA world train you
(ElliotTep)
The highest-impact career paths our research has identified so far (80,000 Hours)
More undergraduate or just-graduated students should consider getting jobs as research techs in academic labs
(JVB)
Difficult to get a job in EA not living in the West? Animal advocacy careers can impact millions of animals anywhere in the world
(Animal Advocacy Careers)
U.S. EAs Should Consider Applying to Join U.S. Diplomacy
(Abi Olvera, Dan Spoko)
Early career people should consider joining fast-growing startups in emerging technologies
(Bill Z)
List of Short-Term (<15 hours) Biosecurity Projects to Test Your Fit
(Sofya Lebedeva)
Job/internship boards
80,000 Hours job board
Probably Good job board
EA Opportunities
List of other job boards
Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org