I am relatively new to EA (though in my mind EA is "Electronic Arts"...). I am looking to make a career change into an area/field that uses my time and skills to help others. I have a BFA (New Media) and spent some time working as a web designer and copywriter, then took time off to be a mom. Since returning to work I have spent most of my time on electronics repair and manufacturing, with some inventory management and other office experience. I am interested in "doing" or helping others "do".
Suggest ways for me to become better informed. I am especially interested in preserving/promoting democracy, voting initiatives, quality of life improvements (e.g. disease prevention, basic education for all), mental health, and equity/equality.
I'm decent enough at proof-reading, and I like listening to others. I'm generally a happy and enthusiastic person who likes getting to know other people.
Wow, your post is timely. I just finished writing a blog post about my thoughts on/impressions of EA after 3 weeks of consuming what I can about it. Part of that post mentions that I really don't know which direction to take because I'm not an academic, I don't have "career experience" that I can leverage, and it feels a bit daunting to try to figure out where I want to/could have impact.
So thank you for this, I really hope I get some value out of it.
Your post seems fairly well thought out, and is interesting to me as a person who isn't that interested/invested in AI alignment/development. I have a a few thoughts...
Hi all! I'm a 40 year old mom who just (re)discovered 80,000 Hours, and through it this forum. I am look at a career change (though I don't know if I really have had a "career" up to this point), and I have the luxury of taking some time to figure out where I could be most useful and enjoy what I'm working on.
I really like the concept of using my time/skills/money to do the most good, though I find that (I think like many people), I place slightly different value on some parts of EA vs. some of the introductory posts I have read. So far, I am interested in social justice issues, promoting/preserving democracy, what future government might look like, and the general preservation of human life through access to preventative medicine and stable food and water supply.
I have background/some skills in many areas, including electronics repair and manufacturing, inventory management, web design, copy writing, video editing, photography and photo editing, box office/front-of-house, retail customer service, shipping coordination, planning and facilitating children's programming. I don't really see how this might get me a job at a very EA-centric company, but who knows.
For now my goal is to learn and connect, so if you have any recommendations for things I should read or just want to say hi, please send me a message.
What do we do as newcomers? How do we make sense of all of the information out there? How do I get involved if I'm not an academic, and I don't have "career experience" to fall back on? I've just published a blog post about some of my impressions as a newcomer to EA. (Though I don't know if I answer any of these questions very well, because I don't know if I have the answers yet.)