The 80,000 Hours Career Guide — Find a fulfilling career that does good Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/the-80-000-hours-career-guide An audio version of the 2023 edition of the 80,000 Hours Career Guide. It contains 11 chapters, from 'What makes for a dream job?' to 'Which jobs help people the most?' to 'What’s the best way to gain connections?' It also has 9 appendices on a range of topics like 'All the evidence-based advice we found on how to be more successful in any job' and 'Is it ever OK to take a harmful job in order to do more good?' Our updated advice can be found at: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/ Effective Ventures Foundation a0a936e5-d871-5162-93d6-162c4e375701 yes en-nz Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:04:20 -0400 Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:05:10 -0400 https://80k.info/careerguideaudio https://img.transistorcdn.com/uYbQdQm6gHVRRXcLUSl5JD8mRcDMEuzmctT2PPVbmCc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ0NTI4LzE2OTM0/ODk2NTEtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.jpg The 80,000 Hours Career Guide — Find a fulfilling career that does good https://80k.info/careerguideaudio episodic Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team An audio version of the 2023 edition of the 80,000 Hours Career Guide. It contains 11 chapters, from 'What makes for a dream job?' to 'Which jobs help people the most?' to 'What’s the best way to gain connections?' It also has 9 appendices on a range of topics like 'All the evidence-based advice we found on how to be more successful in any job' and 'Is it ever OK to take a harmful job in order to do more good?' Our updated advice can be found at: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/ An audio version of the 2023 edition of the 80,000 Hours Career Guide. Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team bf@80000hours.org No No Introduction: Why read this guide? Introduction: Why read this guide? full 9eea5fd7-e79b-4056-8fa3-4b049717e812 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/introduction/ You have 80,000 hours in your career. That’s a long time. Spend one or two of those hours on this guide, to help you work out how to use the rest. We believe you might be able to find a career that is both more satisfying and has a greater positive impact.

]]> You have 80,000 hours in your career. That’s a long time. Spend one or two of those hours on this guide, to help you work out how to use the rest. We believe you might be able to find a career that is both more satisfying and has a greater positive impact.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 19:00:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 299 You have 80,000 hours in your career. That’s a long time. Spend one or two of those hours on this guide, to help you work out how to use the rest. We believe you might be able to find a career that is both more satisfying and has a greater positive impact.

]]> No Part 1: What makes for a dream job? Part 1: What makes for a dream job? full d42ddee1-1284-428a-a17b-43b930c4e0f1 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/job-satisfaction/ Answer: Research shows that to have a fulfilling career, you should do something you’re good at that makes the world a better place. Don’t aim for a highly paid, easy job, or expect to discover your “passion” in a flash of insight. Find out the six key ingredients of fulfilling work.

]]> Answer: Research shows that to have a fulfilling career, you should do something you’re good at that makes the world a better place. Don’t aim for a highly paid, easy job, or expect to discover your “passion” in a flash of insight. Find out the six key ingredients of fulfilling work.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:45:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 1434 Answer: Research shows that to have a fulfilling career, you should do something you’re good at that makes the world a better place. Don’t aim for a highly paid, easy job, or expect to discover your “passion” in a flash of insight. Find out the six key ingredients of fulfilling work.

]]> No Part 2: Can one person make a difference? What the evidence says. Part 2: Can one person make a difference? What the evidence says. full cff4bf69-a49e-4fd3-a0d1-0a803d68eb40 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/how-much-difference-can-one-person-make/ Answer: Many common ways to do good, such as becoming a doctor, have less impact than you might first think. Other, more unconventional options, have allowed certain people to achieve an extraordinary impact (including one particular Lieutenant Colonel in the Soviet military).

]]> Answer: Many common ways to do good, such as becoming a doctor, have less impact than you might first think. Other, more unconventional options, have allowed certain people to achieve an extraordinary impact (including one particular Lieutenant Colonel in the Soviet military).

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:40:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 630 Answer: Many common ways to do good, such as becoming a doctor, have less impact than you might first think. Other, more unconventional options, have allowed certain people to achieve an extraordinary impact (including one particular Lieutenant Colonel in the Soviet military).

]]> No Part 3: Three ways anyone can make a difference, no matter their job Part 3: Three ways anyone can make a difference, no matter their job full 1f86b648-d359-424d-98e7-59790eb98733 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/anyone-make-a-difference/ Answer: With the right approach, you can make a major difference to the lives of others without changing jobs, or making a major sacrifice. You can do this by giving 10% of your income to the world’s poorest people, promoting important causes, or helping others to have a greater impact.

Listen to learn about three ways to make a difference in any job.

]]> Answer: With the right approach, you can make a major difference to the lives of others without changing jobs, or making a major sacrifice. You can do this by giving 10% of your income to the world’s poorest people, promoting important causes, or helping others to have a greater impact.

Listen to learn about three ways to make a difference in any job.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:35:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 916 Answer: With the right approach, you can make a major difference to the lives of others without changing jobs, or making a major sacrifice. You can do this by giving 10% of your income to the world’s poorest people, promoting important causes, or helping others to have a greater impact.

Listen to learn about three ways to make a difference in any job.

]]> No Part 4: Want to do good? Here’s how to choose an area to focus on. Part 4: Want to do good? Here’s how to choose an area to focus on. full 5c4a33b0-34ce-405d-96f0-40c4d453feab https://80000hours.org/career-guide/most-pressing-problems/ Answer: To maximise your impact, work on areas (1) that are large in scale, (2) that others neglect, and (3) where it’s possible to make progress. Many people fail to compare the scale of different problems, work on the same problems as everyone else, and support programmes with no evidence of impact.

In this article we explain how to compare global problems.

]]> Answer: To maximise your impact, work on areas (1) that are large in scale, (2) that others neglect, and (3) where it’s possible to make progress. Many people fail to compare the scale of different problems, work on the same problems as everyone else, and support programmes with no evidence of impact.

In this article we explain how to compare global problems.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:30:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 792 Answer: To maximise your impact, work on areas (1) that are large in scale, (2) that others neglect, and (3) where it’s possible to make progress. Many people fail to compare the scale of different problems, work on the same problems as everyone else, and support programmes with no evidence of impact.

In this article we explain how to compare global problems.

]]> No Part 5: The world’s biggest problems and why they’re not what first comes to mind Part 5: The world’s biggest problems and why they’re not what first comes to mind full a34ddf67-fc80-4753-9032-e162a3d74cae https://80000hours.org/career-guide/world-problems/ Answer: Most people in rich countries who aim to do good work on health, poverty, and education in their home country. But health in poor countries is a bigger, more solvable problem, and only receives 4% of charitable donations. And we argue there are even bigger and more neglected issues, such as those involving existential risks and smarter-than-human AI.

Here we explain what we’ve learnt about the world’s most urgent problems.

]]> Answer: Most people in rich countries who aim to do good work on health, poverty, and education in their home country. But health in poor countries is a bigger, more solvable problem, and only receives 4% of charitable donations. And we argue there are even bigger and more neglected issues, such as those involving existential risks and smarter-than-human AI.

Here we explain what we’ve learnt about the world’s most urgent problems.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:25:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 1812 Answer: Most people in rich countries who aim to do good work on health, poverty, and education in their home country. But health in poor countries is a bigger, more solvable problem, and only receives 4% of charitable donations. And we argue there are even bigger and more neglected issues, such as those involving existential risks and smarter-than-human AI.

Here we explain what we’ve learnt about the world’s most urgent problems.

]]> No Part 6: Which jobs help people the most? Part 6: Which jobs help people the most? full 8827c796-8317-4f36-aaa4-73aa356a5eeb https://80000hours.org/career-guide/high-impact-jobs/ Answer: When we think of jobs that help people, medicine, teaching, and charity work are what first come to mind. But these are not always the highest-impact options. To help the most people, think broadly about the paths where you can make the biggest contribution, including research, communications and community-building, taking high-earning jobs to donate to charity, government and policy, and organisation-building.

Here we lay out five types of high-impact career.

]]> Answer: When we think of jobs that help people, medicine, teaching, and charity work are what first come to mind. But these are not always the highest-impact options. To help the most people, think broadly about the paths where you can make the biggest contribution, including research, communications and community-building, taking high-earning jobs to donate to charity, government and policy, and organisation-building.

Here we lay out five types of high-impact career.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:20:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 2217 Answer: When we think of jobs that help people, medicine, teaching, and charity work are what first come to mind. But these are not always the highest-impact options. To help the most people, think broadly about the paths where you can make the biggest contribution, including research, communications and community-building, taking high-earning jobs to donate to charity, government and policy, and organisation-building.

Here we lay out five types of high-impact career.

]]> No Part 7: Which jobs put you in the best long-term position? Part 7: Which jobs put you in the best long-term position? full 31a19f4e-c1a2-47b7-8ffd-4146cbae75ee https://80000hours.org/career-guide/career-capital/ Answer: Especially early in your career, take options that will give you career capital — skills, connections, credentials, character, and runway that put you in a better position to make a difference. Examples include working at high-performing growing organisations, graduate studies in certain subjects such as economics, or learning concrete skills like information security or China expertise. Be careful with humanities PhDs, charity jobs, and vocational qualifications.

Here we lay out many strategies for putting yourself in a better position.

]]> Answer: Especially early in your career, take options that will give you career capital — skills, connections, credentials, character, and runway that put you in a better position to make a difference. Examples include working at high-performing growing organisations, graduate studies in certain subjects such as economics, or learning concrete skills like information security or China expertise. Be careful with humanities PhDs, charity jobs, and vocational qualifications.

Here we lay out many strategies for putting yourself in a better position.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:15:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 2414 Answer: Especially early in your career, take options that will give you career capital — skills, connections, credentials, character, and runway that put you in a better position to make a difference. Examples include working at high-performing growing organisations, graduate studies in certain subjects such as economics, or learning concrete skills like information security or China expertise. Be careful with humanities PhDs, charity jobs, and vocational qualifications.

Here we lay out many strategies for putting yourself in a better position.

]]> No Part 8: How to find the right career for you Part 8: How to find the right career for you full 3aca0489-56d9-46b4-8c6a-50cd4085b5a0 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/personal-fit/ Answer: Don’t expect to figure out what you’re best at right away, especially through introspection, going with your gut, or career tests. Instead, think like a scientist: make best guesses, clarify your key uncertainties, and then investigate those uncertainties by doing research and cheap tests. Early in your career, consider trying out several paths, and when in doubt, aim high.

In this episode we suggest ways to find the best career for you.

]]> Answer: Don’t expect to figure out what you’re best at right away, especially through introspection, going with your gut, or career tests. Instead, think like a scientist: make best guesses, clarify your key uncertainties, and then investigate those uncertainties by doing research and cheap tests. Early in your career, consider trying out several paths, and when in doubt, aim high.

In this episode we suggest ways to find the best career for you.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:10:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 1985 Answer: Don’t expect to figure out what you’re best at right away, especially through introspection, going with your gut, or career tests. Instead, think like a scientist: make best guesses, clarify your key uncertainties, and then investigate those uncertainties by doing research and cheap tests. Early in your career, consider trying out several paths, and when in doubt, aim high.

In this episode we suggest ways to find the best career for you.

]]> No Part 9: How to make your career plan Part 9: How to make your career plan full bc8bfcb7-bdfa-4095-a0db-ed5f35ad370e https://80000hours.org/career-guide/how-to-be-successful/ Answer: Rather than try to pinpoint the single best option, accept that your plan is likely to change. But don’t try to “keep your options open”. Instead, think about your career in three stages: exploring, building career capital, and deploying that career capital to have an impact. Then, sketch out a plan A, but also a plan B and plan Z in case it doesn’t work out. Update your plan every couple of years.

Here we explain how to make a flexible A/B/Z career plan.

]]> Answer: Rather than try to pinpoint the single best option, accept that your plan is likely to change. But don’t try to “keep your options open”. Instead, think about your career in three stages: exploring, building career capital, and deploying that career capital to have an impact. Then, sketch out a plan A, but also a plan B and plan Z in case it doesn’t work out. Update your plan every couple of years.

Here we explain how to make a flexible A/B/Z career plan.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:05:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 1384 Answer: Rather than try to pinpoint the single best option, accept that your plan is likely to change. But don’t try to “keep your options open”. Instead, think about your career in three stages: exploring, building career capital, and deploying that career capital to have an impact. Then, sketch out a plan A, but also a plan B and plan Z in case it doesn’t work out. Update your plan every couple of years.

Here we explain how to make a flexible A/B/Z career plan.

]]> No Part 10: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job Part 10: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job full 1a63687b-fd00-4fd0-a796-652834de8912 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/career-plan/ Answer: Don’t just send out your CV in response to job listings. Get leads through your connections, and prove that you can do the work by actually doing some. When you get an offer, negotiate.

Here we offer a summary of all the best advice on how to get the job you want.

]]> Answer: Don’t just send out your CV in response to job listings. Get leads through your connections, and prove that you can do the work by actually doing some. When you get an offer, negotiate.

Here we offer a summary of all the best advice on how to get the job you want.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 1725 Answer: Don’t just send out your CV in response to job listings. Get leads through your connections, and prove that you can do the work by actually doing some. When you get an offer, negotiate.

Here we offer a summary of all the best advice on how to get the job you want.

]]> No Part 11: One of the most powerful ways to improve your career — join a community. Part 11: One of the most powerful ways to improve your career — join a community. full ccf26358-ab47-4897-bb68-b2e1ddd61061 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/how-to-get-a-job/ Answer: Join a community of people working in the same area as you. You’ll get hundreds of connections at once. And two people working together effectively can achieve more than they could individually. Every community’s unique, so try out several and see which are best for you and your career. If you liked this guide, then you’ll probably share aims with lots of people in the effective altruism community, which we helped start back in 2011.

Here we explain how being part of a community can help.

]]> Answer: Join a community of people working in the same area as you. You’ll get hundreds of connections at once. And two people working together effectively can achieve more than they could individually. Every community’s unique, so try out several and see which are best for you and your career. If you liked this guide, then you’ll probably share aims with lots of people in the effective altruism community, which we helped start back in 2011.

Here we explain how being part of a community can help.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:55:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 688 Answer: Join a community of people working in the same area as you. You’ll get hundreds of connections at once. And two people working together effectively can achieve more than they could individually. Every community’s unique, so try out several and see which are best for you and your career. If you liked this guide, then you’ll probably share aims with lots of people in the effective altruism community, which we helped start back in 2011.

Here we explain how being part of a community can help.

]]> No The end: A cheery final note — imagining your deathbed The end: A cheery final note — imagining your deathbed full 2a4a0f93-be48-42a8-919e-45355cf05a09 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/end We sum up the whole guide in a few minutes.

]]> We sum up the whole guide in a few minutes.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:50:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team Benjamin Todd & the 80,000 Hours team 250 We sum up the whole guide in a few minutes.

]]> No Appendix A: The meaning of making a difference Appendix A: The meaning of making a difference full add9d7f1-43f9-4225-bdd1-dd0b8967180a https://80000hours.org/articles/what-is-social-impact-definition/ Lots of people say they want to “make a difference,” “do good,” “have a social impact,” or “make the world a better place” — but they rarely say what they mean by those terms.

By getting clearer about your definition, you can better target your efforts. So how should you define social impact?

]]> Lots of people say they want to “make a difference,” “do good,” “have a social impact,” or “make the world a better place” — but they rarely say what they mean by those terms.

By getting clearer about your definition, you can better target your efforts. So how should you define social impact?

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:45:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd Benjamin Todd 326 Lots of people say they want to “make a difference,” “do good,” “have a social impact,” or “make the world a better place” — but they rarely say what they mean by those terms.

By getting clearer about your definition, you can better target your efforts. So how should you define social impact?

]]> No Appendix B: All the evidence-based advice we found on how to be more successful in any job Appendix B: All the evidence-based advice we found on how to be more successful in any job full 9eb04fb4-97d6-433d-bc0b-0483d0bf4578 https://80000hours.org/career-guide/how-to-be-successful/ The trouble with self-help advice is that it’s often based on barely any evidence.

Much other advice is just one person’s opinion, or useless clichés. But at 80,000 Hours, we’ve found that there are a number of evidence-backed steps that anyone can take to become more productive and successful in their career, and life in general. And as we saw in an earlier article, people can keep improving their skills for decades.

]]> The trouble with self-help advice is that it’s often based on barely any evidence.

Much other advice is just one person’s opinion, or useless clichés. But at 80,000 Hours, we’ve found that there are a number of evidence-backed steps that anyone can take to become more productive and successful in their career, and life in general. And as we saw in an earlier article, people can keep improving their skills for decades.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:40:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd Benjamin Todd 3535 The trouble with self-help advice is that it’s often based on barely any evidence.

Much other advice is just one person’s opinion, or useless clichés. But at 80,000 Hours, we’ve found that there are a number of evidence-backed steps that anyone can take to become more productive and successful in their career, and life in general. And as we saw in an earlier article, people can keep improving their skills for decades.

]]> No Appendix C: Four biases to avoid in career decisions Appendix C: Four biases to avoid in career decisions full 9a2950f3-0e5f-4f94-ac45-fe63bf8d2548 https://80000hours.org/articles/4-biases-to-avoid-in-career-decisions/ 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.

]]> 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.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:35:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd Benjamin Todd 381 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.

]]> No Appendix D: How to make tough career decisions Appendix D: How to make tough career decisions full 32714c4a-8335-4ff9-93a2-5f74e6bc04e5 https://80000hours.org/career-decision/article/ Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:30:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd Benjamin Todd 1119 No Appendix E: Is it ever OK to take a harmful job in order to do more good? An in-depth analysis Appendix E: Is it ever OK to take a harmful job in order to do more good? An in-depth analysis full 120f624c-0fee-4f5a-80ab-13e3ccdf0f7c https://80000hours.org/articles/harmful-career/ Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:25:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd & Will MacAskill Benjamin Todd & Will MacAskill 2096 No Appendix H: Career review summaries Appendix H: Career review summaries full 86e58593-6fe2-45b2-af68-e77c57c804bd https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/ As part of our research, we’ve evaluated different careers: how likely people are to succeed in them, how much good they could do in them, and how to enter them.

]]> As part of our research, we’ve evaluated different careers: how likely people are to succeed in them, how much good they could do in them, and how to enter them.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:20:00 -0400 Various authors Various authors 5015 As part of our research, we’ve evaluated different careers: how likely people are to succeed in them, how much good they could do in them, and how to enter them.

]]> No Appendix G: Additional resources Appendix G: Additional resources full 45f2816e-c121-4210-99fc-4f636c8da375 https://80000hours.org/articles/further-reading/ Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:15:00 -0400 The 80,000 Hours team The 80,000 Hours team 366 No Appendix F: College advice Appendix F: College advice full 840d5c55-682e-4b29-9184-ae77a6781f78 https://80000hours.org/articles/college-advice/ Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:10:00 -0400 Benjamin Todd Benjamin Todd 983 No Appendix I: Problem profile summaries Appendix I: Problem profile summaries full 0ecf9e31-a6bc-4396-b3b7-441e32801623 https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/ We aim to list issues where each additional person can have the most positive impact. So we focus on problems that others neglect, which are solvable, and which are unusually big in scale, often because they could affect many future generations — such as existential risks.

]]> We aim to list issues where each additional person can have the most positive impact. So we focus on problems that others neglect, which are solvable, and which are unusually big in scale, often because they could affect many future generations — such as existential risks.

]]> Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:00:00 -0400 Various authors Various authors 2409 We aim to list issues where each additional person can have the most positive impact. So we focus on problems that others neglect, which are solvable, and which are unusually big in scale, often because they could affect many future generations — such as existential risks.

]]> No