How to have a positive impact with your career (with Benjamin Hilton)

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Mar 13, 2024

Benjamin Hilton, a research analyst at 80,000 Hours with advanced degrees in economics and physics, dives into the art of crafting a career that maximizes positive impact. He discusses the balance between passion and practicalities, stressing that effective careers often align with both personal fit and leverage. Hilton emphasizes the importance of transferable skills and finding high-impact areas to work in, while also cautioning against the overconfidence that can come from using simplistic models to gauge career effectiveness. A thought-provoking exploration of making your work matter!

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ANECDOTE

CBT and Positivity

Benjamin Hilton's mom, a psychiatrist, taught him CBT techniques as a child.
This helped him maintain a positive mindset throughout his life and career.

ANECDOTE

Anchor Habits

Benjamin Hilton improved his social life by anchoring message-checking to his morning routine.
This small change, using anchor habits, significantly improved his responsiveness to friends.

INSIGHT

Passion vs. Meaning

Following your passion is not the best way to find fulfilling work.
Focus on meaning, impact, and avoiding negative aspects of a job instead.

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Read the full transcript here.

What's the best way to think about building an impactful career? Should everyone try to work in fields related to existential risks? Should people find work in a problem area even if they can't work on the very "best" solution within that area? What does it mean for a particular job or career path to be a "good fit" for someone? What is "career capital"? To what extent should people focus on developing transferable skills? What are some of the most useful cross-domain skills? To what extent should people allow their passions and interests to influence how they think about potential career paths? Are there formulas that can be used to estimate how impactful a career will be for someone? And if there are, then how might people misuse them? Should everyone aim to build a high-leverage career? When do people update too much on new evidence?

Benjamin Hilton is a research analyst at 80,000 Hours, where he's written on a range of topics from career strategy to nuclear war and the risks from artificial intelligence. He recently helped re-write the 80,000 Hours career guide alongside its author and 80,000 Hours co-founder, Ben Todd. Before joining 80,000 Hours, he was a civil servant, working as a policy adviser across the UK government in the Cabinet Office, Treasury, and Department for International Trade. He has master’s degrees in economics and theoretical physics, and has published in the fields of physics, history, and complexity science. Learn more about him on the 80,000 Hours website, or email him at benjamin.hilton@80000hours.org.

Further reading

80,000 Hours: Career Guide

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum
WeAmplify — Transcriptionists
Alexandria D. — Research and Special Projects Assistant

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