How to Be an Effective Altruist
Pursue a career where you have the potential to make a big impact., Avoid lower impact career options., Consider the impact that your income may have over your lifetime., Live modestly., Consider taking a pledge to give what you can to charity.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Pursue a career where you have the potential to make a big impact.
Some effective altruists choose jobs that provide the highest wage because a high income allows one to donate more money to effective charities and, therefore, to have a greater impact.Some good options to consider include:
Investment banking, computer programming, hedge fund management, or engineering.
High wage jobs like these will mean that you have lots of money to donate and that you will be able to make a bigger impact with your donations.
Government jobs where you might rise into a decision making position, such as a position with the World Bank, UNICEF, etc.
Although you may not make as much money working for a government organization, by moving up in the ranks, you will be able to make decisions about how money is allocated and thereby you could find yourself in a position to multiply by 5 or 10 times the cost-effectiveness of a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prioritization research is an emerging field that may be well suited to someone with research experience.
Prioritization researchers conduct research on organizations, interventions, and policies to figure out which ones are the most effective and beneficial. -
Step 2: Avoid lower impact career options.
Steer clear of careers that seem like you will be able to help people, but realistically your total impact on the world will be small.
Although traditional altruists may gravitate towards helping professions, effective altruists question whether these careers allow one to make the greatest possible impact in the lives of others. , Even if a job seems like it will allow you to help others, compare your potential impact in a low wage helping career versus a high wage career.
For example, if you earn $50,000 per year you may only be able to donate $5,000 per year over the course of your career, which would amount to $150,000 in 30 years.
However, if you earned $150,000 per year, you might be able to donate half of that income or $75,000 per year, which would make your lifetime contribution $2,250,000.
That amount of money, if donated to the most effective charities, could have a much more significant impact on the lives of many people.
Check www.80000hours.org for more effective altruism career advice. , Although some effective altruists seek jobs that provide the highest wage that they can make, they do not do so in order to enjoy a lavish lifestyle.
Effective altruists live modestly despite earning a high wage, so that others may benefit.
It is up to you to decide what a modest lifestyle will be like for you, but many of the effective altruists that Singer discusses live on a small fraction of what they make.
One of the most influential effective altruists that Singer describes is Matt Wage, an outstanding philosophy student who turned down an opportunity to study for a doctorate at Oxford University in order to take a job on Wall Street.
He has been donating more than $100,000 a year to effective charities ever since.
As another example, Singer describes a couple whose annual income was $40,000, yet they donated 1/3 of their income at first, and then, when their income rose, increased their donations until they were donating half of their income to charities.
To keep their cost of living down, the couple used public transportation and rented part of a house rather than living alone. , For some people, going forward with intentions to live modestly and donate large amounts of money to charity may require some external motivation.
To make your intentions into a commitment, you can visit GivingWhatWeCan.org and take their pledge.
By taking this pledge, you will be expressing your intent to contribute at least 10% of your income to effective charities.
If you prefer suggested by Singer in his book The Life You Can Save.
With Singer’s pledge the suggested percentage starts off lower than at GivingWhatWeCan, but rises as your income rises.
You can take this pledge at http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/Take-the-Pledge, Singer discusses the psychological toll of earning money only to give it away.
He explains that for some people, making their commitment public helps them to keep going. -
Step 3: Consider the impact that your income may have over your lifetime.
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Step 4: Live modestly.
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Step 5: Consider taking a pledge to give what you can to charity.
Detailed Guide
Some effective altruists choose jobs that provide the highest wage because a high income allows one to donate more money to effective charities and, therefore, to have a greater impact.Some good options to consider include:
Investment banking, computer programming, hedge fund management, or engineering.
High wage jobs like these will mean that you have lots of money to donate and that you will be able to make a bigger impact with your donations.
Government jobs where you might rise into a decision making position, such as a position with the World Bank, UNICEF, etc.
Although you may not make as much money working for a government organization, by moving up in the ranks, you will be able to make decisions about how money is allocated and thereby you could find yourself in a position to multiply by 5 or 10 times the cost-effectiveness of a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prioritization research is an emerging field that may be well suited to someone with research experience.
Prioritization researchers conduct research on organizations, interventions, and policies to figure out which ones are the most effective and beneficial.
Steer clear of careers that seem like you will be able to help people, but realistically your total impact on the world will be small.
Although traditional altruists may gravitate towards helping professions, effective altruists question whether these careers allow one to make the greatest possible impact in the lives of others. , Even if a job seems like it will allow you to help others, compare your potential impact in a low wage helping career versus a high wage career.
For example, if you earn $50,000 per year you may only be able to donate $5,000 per year over the course of your career, which would amount to $150,000 in 30 years.
However, if you earned $150,000 per year, you might be able to donate half of that income or $75,000 per year, which would make your lifetime contribution $2,250,000.
That amount of money, if donated to the most effective charities, could have a much more significant impact on the lives of many people.
Check www.80000hours.org for more effective altruism career advice. , Although some effective altruists seek jobs that provide the highest wage that they can make, they do not do so in order to enjoy a lavish lifestyle.
Effective altruists live modestly despite earning a high wage, so that others may benefit.
It is up to you to decide what a modest lifestyle will be like for you, but many of the effective altruists that Singer discusses live on a small fraction of what they make.
One of the most influential effective altruists that Singer describes is Matt Wage, an outstanding philosophy student who turned down an opportunity to study for a doctorate at Oxford University in order to take a job on Wall Street.
He has been donating more than $100,000 a year to effective charities ever since.
As another example, Singer describes a couple whose annual income was $40,000, yet they donated 1/3 of their income at first, and then, when their income rose, increased their donations until they were donating half of their income to charities.
To keep their cost of living down, the couple used public transportation and rented part of a house rather than living alone. , For some people, going forward with intentions to live modestly and donate large amounts of money to charity may require some external motivation.
To make your intentions into a commitment, you can visit GivingWhatWeCan.org and take their pledge.
By taking this pledge, you will be expressing your intent to contribute at least 10% of your income to effective charities.
If you prefer suggested by Singer in his book The Life You Can Save.
With Singer’s pledge the suggested percentage starts off lower than at GivingWhatWeCan, but rises as your income rises.
You can take this pledge at http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/Take-the-Pledge, Singer discusses the psychological toll of earning money only to give it away.
He explains that for some people, making their commitment public helps them to keep going.
About the Author
Melissa Smith
Writer and educator with a focus on practical pet care knowledge.
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