Using Volunteer Roles to Build Skills and Networks in EA

Volunteering can be a practical way to gain skills, explore different areas of effective altruism, and expand your professional network. In this post, I’ll share my recent experience taking on short volunteer projects with EA-aligned organisations: what I did, what I learned, and why I’d recommend it to others who are early in their careers or transitioning into the space.

Why I Tried This

I’m currently between full-time roles, with a background in corporate data analysis (~2 years in dashboards/spreadsheets) and operations (~1 year). To stay active and develop new skills, I began offering unpaid support to EA organisations.

My goals were:

• Practise new skills in real-world contexts
• Build relationships that might open doors to future opportunities
• Contribute to organisations I care about

How I Found Opportunities

I started by reaching out to 2nd-degree contacts in EA, offering to review their backend operations. When organisations expressed interest, I proposed a simple structure: up to 10 hours of unpaid work on whatever processes they wanted reviewed.

This led to 5+ projects over the past few months (totalling ~60 hours). From what I’ve seen, there is substantial demand for value-aligned volunteers who can provide reliable, flexible support.

How I Approached the Work

I tried to enter initial calls with an open mind, asking:

• Why hasn’t this work been done already?
• Is it worth the time to onboard a volunteer?
• What impact would this project have if completed?
   

Most requests fit my data background (e.g. “check if our database follows best practices,” “why is this spreadsheet running slowly”). Others required learning new tools on the fly:

• Google Analytics
• Google Apps Script
• Supabase
   

In one case I was asked about CommCare, but that seemed like too large a project.

I usually spent ~2 of the 10 hours up front learning whatever tool or context was needed (e.g. the low-code platform an app was built on). This model could work in other fields too — e.g. basics of brand design, social media strategy, or partnership coordination.

What I Learned

Some benefits I didn’t expect in advance:

• Broader understanding of areas like factory farming and EA founders’ operations
• Practice executing projects independently with little oversight
• Stronger skills in business processes and data handling
• New project ideas and greater confidence starting them
• A sense of momentum and structure (I even got a desk space in town, which helped a lot while job searching).

Advice for Others

If you’re early in your career (say 0–4 years of work experience), changing fields, or just want to get more involved in EA, I recommend trying structured volunteering. A few tips:

• Limit scope (e.g. 10 hours per project) so it’s manageable.
• Focus on areas where you can build transferable skills.
• Treat it like consulting — deliver value quickly and clearly.
• Be mindful of tradeoffs: volunteering is not a substitute for paid work, and organisations shouldn’t rely on it for core functions.

Closing

Overall, this experiment gave me more skills, connections, and ideas than I expected — and made me more optimistic about contributing to the EA community.

I’d love to hear from others:

• Have you tried volunteering in a similar way?
• What worked well (or didn’t) for you?
• Are there risks or downsides I haven’t covered here?