[Career review] “Investigate a potentially pressing but unexplored global issue” by Arden Koehler

In a nutshell: Working on neglected global problems that could be even more pressing than those we currently prioritise could be very high impact. If you identify such a problem, resources could be directed to address it much earlier than might have been done otherwise. On the other hand, if your research indicates a potential problem shouldn’t be prioritised, then you can write up your findings for others, saving them time.

This path isn’t exactly competitive per se, but it seems very difficult to succeed, so we group it with highly competitive paths like becoming a public intellectual.

Sometimes recommended — highly competitive

This career is potentially high-impact, but is exceptionally competitive.

Review status

Based on a shallow investigation

Why might exploring a potentially pressing problem be high impact?

There are many neglected global problems that could turn out to be as or even more pressing than those we currently prioritise most highly. We’d be keen to see more people explore them by acquiring relevant training and a network of mentors, and getting to know the relevant fields.

If the problem area still seems potentially promising once you’ve built up a background, you could take on [...]

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(00:46) Sometimes recommended -- highly competitive

(00:57) Review status

(01:02) Why might exploring a potentially pressing problem be high impact?

(02:56) Want one-on-one advice on pursuing this path?

(03:16) Learn more

(03:34) Learn about other high-impact careers

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First published:
October 22nd, 2021

Source:
https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/explore-a-potentially-pressing-global-issue

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.