I'm Benjamin Todd, founder of 80,000 Hours. I turned down a job in finance to spend 15 years researching which careers are best. 3000+ people have gone to work on issues like AI risk and pandemics as a result. I just wrote a book on finding a fulfilling career even as AI automates the economy. AMA!

I'm Benjamin Todd, founder of 80,000 Hours. I turned down a job in finance to spend 15 years researching which careers are best. 3000+ people have gone to work on issues like AI risk and pandemics as a result. I just wrote a book on finding a fulfilling career even as AI automates the economy. AMA!

Your career is your most important decision, both for you and for the world. But most advice is little more than anecdotes and clichés like "follow your passion". So millions of people waste it. I started 80,000 Hours, a non-profit that gives away free research and advice on careers that do good, while still paying the bills. (The name is how many hours you'll work in a typical career.) Since then, instead of defaulting into consulting, finance or other defaults, thousands of our readers have taken jobs tackling pandemics, AI risk, factory farming, global poverty, and other problems most people overlook, and also pledged $1bn+ to charity along the way. Back in 2016, we flagged AI and pandemics as two of the most pressing issues of our time, and our alumni now do key work on AI safety at places like Anthropic, METR and RAND. I've just published a book with Penguin, also called 80,000 Hours, pulling together everything research can tell us about building a career that's both fulfilling and useful. It feels like my life's work. A few other things about me: I've spent over six months on silent meditation retreat, studied philosophy of physics at university, tried to summarise all self-help advice into a single post, speak passable Chinese, and have strong opinions about excessively fruity coffee and Taiwanese tea. Ask me about careers, whether AI is about to upend the job market, the world's most pressing problems, or anything else! (Tweet with proof.) https://preview.redd.it/j2fd4o40p34h1.jpg?width=1530&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55fbc35f0a70c595cf51b075efe6db8f5f1b9af8 submitted by /u/BenjaminTodd [link] [comments]