“Part 6: Which jobs help people the most?” by Benjamin Todd

Why Superman was wrong to fight crime – comic from SMBC.

Many people think of Superman as a hero. But he may be the greatest example of underutilised talent in all of fiction. It was a blunder to spend his life fighting crime one case at a time; if he’d thought a little more creatively, he could have done far more good. How about delivering vaccines to everyone in the world at superspeed? That would have eradicated most infectious disease, saving hundreds of millions of lives.

Here we’ll argue that a lot of people who want to “make a difference” with their career fall into the same trap as Superman. College graduates imagine becoming doctors or teachers, but these may not be the best fit for their particular skills. And like Superman fighting crime, these paths are often limited in the amount they could potentially contribute to solving a problem.

In contrast, Nobel Prize winner Karl Landsteiner discovered blood groups, enabling hundreds of millions of lifesaving operations.

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Outline:

(01:48) The bottom line

(02:39) Approach #1: Earning to give

(07:18) Should you earn to give?

(09:43) Common objections to earning to give

(12:52) Approach #2: Communication

(17:49) Approach #3: Research

(23:08) Don’t forget supporting positions

(24:39) Approach #4: Government and policy

(26:45) Approach #5: Building organisations

(31:07) What about if you want to found an organisation?

(31:45) More ideas for impactful careers

(32:22) A word of caution: power, harm, and corruption

(35:42) Which is the right approach for you?

(39:16) Conclusion: in which job can you help the most?

(40:22) Exercise: Apply this to your own career

(42:12) Recap of our career guide so far

(43:57) How can I put myself in the best position to get a high-impact job?

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First published:
September 30th, 2014

Source:
https://80000hours.org/career-guide/high-impact-jobs