Comments
Note: the “example subprojects” are intended to illustrate what the project means, they are not intentions of actually doing the project.
Project idea: 80,000 Hours has clarified its limited scope, and other organizations are supporting career decisions in other paths, and communities within those paths. CEA is unlikely to have comparative advantage in something like career counseling, but we may be able to provide infrastructure or support to other groups, or help connect individuals.
Example subproject: encourage people who have been successful at non-80k-priority paths to post case studies on the EA Forum.
Helps with: can’t find a way to contribute, career benefits, having responsibilities, learning important things.
Project idea: somehow make it easier for engaged EAs to identify peers who share their interests.
Example subprojects: support a directory like the EA Hub’s.
Helps with: social, career benefits, can’t find a way to contribute
Project idea: a surprising number of people who I speak to mention a large benefit from hearing Will MacAskill comment that he had anxiety dreams about posting on the EA Forum. Publishing more stories of what being in the EA is actually like, including emotional difficulties, may help engaged EAs who are struggling to realize they are not alone. Some EAs may not engage in self-care because they thought burnout/mental health concerns don’t/shouldn’t apply to people as dedicated/involved/whatever as them, and sharing more stories would clarify this.
Example subprojects: encourage “prestigious” EAs to share personal stories.[1]
Helps with: burnout/mental health
Project idea: major life events, such as moving to a new city or becoming a parent, may cause people to disconnect from EA. Connecting these people to EAs in that new community may help them stay engaged.
Example subprojects: connect graduating university students with EA groups in the city they are moving to after graduation.
Helps with: stepping back after big life events.
There is obviously a long list of things that we are not doing, but there are a few which seem worth pointing out explicitly as things we are unlikely to do:
| Project | Why |
| Supporting earning to give | Not listed by many people GWWC does some of this already CE might incubate an organization to do this |
| Mentorship | Hard to do well Some successful projects already: CEA Events Fellowships, WANBAM |
| Make microgrants | Not CEA’s comparative advantage. |
Regarding helping people with major life transitions, I just wanted to mention that there is a (reasonably active) Parents in Effective Altruism Facebook group! We are also keen to hear from people who are not parents yet, but are considering becoming parents in the future.
There are a lot of Facebook groups exist because there is an obvious niche but don't really have enough quality content to justify themselves, but the Parents group is actually pretty good; I definitely recommend if you're a parent and want to chat with similar other people.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/eaparents