Geography has much to do with your economic status, including access to knowledge and opportunities. I am from Zambia and was privileged to stumble upon the Effective Altruism community that aligns with SOME of my values and the kind of life I want to live. There are a lot of conversations I feel I can't participate in on this forum because of my geography and limited work/academic experience/network so far - I probably will someday.
I am so motivated to do this because I never had any career guidance at any point in my life. After five years of working as a product design consultant, co-founding some businesses, and a master's degree, I haven't resolved what I want to do with my career, so I am very happy to be building an EA community in my country while I engage with the 80,000 HOURS book online and in person.
I am also being mentored by Felix Lee, co-founder of ADPList, which is great because I can learn from his experiences going from being a product designer to his mission to solve many shortcomings of the current education system that hinder the choice to pursue potential career paths.
Some goals that I have and will track in this thread for accountability
- Grow the page's following on Instagram and TikTok to 1000.
- Facilitate monthly online meetings where followers meet local professionals working in EA cause areas.
- Connect with companies like Udemy, Data Camp, and Coursera to provide scholarships to the community because most of us can't afford the few hundred dollars to pay for those courses.
- THIS IS A BIG ONE - Organise one career fair for students and graduates.
On a more personal note, I look forward to becoming an effective communicator in the EA community. I also have my fingers crossed that I will become a human-centered design lecturer at a university in Zambia.
Picture Credit: https://www.instagram.com/chamwa_tells_stories/
Check out the pages:
https://www.instagram.com/star.careers/
At least when I used it a few years back, if you just wrote coursera that you were a broke student and couldn't afford the course, they'd give it to you for free. Unsure if that's still the case, but it's likely worth giving it a go and seeing what happens!
This is still the case. I used it for my Google UX certification. Not a lot of people know that and they turn away just at the thought of buying a $9 course.
Update #1
Update #2
A lot is happening even when you think nothing is happening.