You could get it all in one package deal. Whereas now we have to find our sense of belonging in one place, and our intellectual life in another
Very on point. Despite still living up to EA principles as I have for the past ~14 years, I have little interest in the remnants of the EA community institutions.
We have a regular EtG meetup in London. You might be interested in setting up something similar where you live, perhaps branching off a preexisting Effective Giving/Giving What We Can group?
I'm curious how you first got interested in giving, especially as Giving What We Can skewed towards students and (very) young professionals at the time.
What motivated you to increase the percentages over time?
How do your wife and teenage children feel about your giving?
It will depend on what your alternatives are. If you could become a charity entrepreneur, I would expect this option dominates over your proposed path. Perhaps you are pursuing some other direct work options that you can compare to your option once you have received an offer.
But if there are no compelling direct work options (and for most people, there won't be), earning and donating as much as you can is a great path! Donating $10k a year is a great start.
I completely agree with you that being in a limbo state is the least effective place you can be! Exploring is valuable, but at some point you have to act what you have learnt. Even if what you learnt was really not what you were hoping to learn...
My perspective is that I can still have a major impact via donations. The more I earn, the more I can donate. The more frugal I live, the more I can donate too. Unfortunately the EA Community is no longer as supportive of people who see their primary way to impact via donations as it once was. I don't think I would have come to my current perspective if I had joined the EA Community in recent years. But Giving What We Can is ramping up again and holding some events if this is a path you might be interested in.
I am still working in the UK Civil Service and have worked here for 3.5 years by now. I do consider the direct impact of my work in the Civil Service to be trivial compared to the donations I can make thanks to my earnings. I have increased my pay by ~135% compared to when I started (not inflation-adjusted). How much this has increased my donations is a bit harder to say as my finances and donations are mingled with my husband's.
I do not consider myself settled as I expect my earnings to tap out now. My original plan was to switch to the private sector this year, but this has been tricky as tech is having a downturn. All my Civil Service roles have been data/tech roles. I also considered some other direct work options this year, but there were very few I was interested in (both due to poor fit as well as doubts over their actual impact) and none of them panned out.
Hope this helps and feel free to reach out anytime. I am sorry you are in this position.
Very on point. Despite still living up to EA principles as I have for the past ~14 years, I have little interest in the remnants of the EA community institutions.
We have a regular EtG meetup in London. You might be interested in setting up something similar where you live, perhaps branching off a preexisting Effective Giving/Giving What We Can group?
Or you can take a highly paid job anywhere and do Earning to Give!
Many organisations need money, no matter the cause area. Communities around Effective Giving and Earning to Give are growing again.
I'm curious how you first got interested in giving, especially as Giving What We Can skewed towards students and (very) young professionals at the time.
What motivated you to increase the percentages over time?
How do your wife and teenage children feel about your giving?
This will happen at Lincoln's Inn Fields as planned! Looking forward to seeing everyone.
It will depend on what your alternatives are. If you could become a charity entrepreneur, I would expect this option dominates over your proposed path. Perhaps you are pursuing some other direct work options that you can compare to your option once you have received an offer.
But if there are no compelling direct work options (and for most people, there won't be), earning and donating as much as you can is a great path! Donating $10k a year is a great start.
It is a bit disheartening to see that some readers will take the book at face value.
First I apologize for my late response!
I completely agree with you that being in a limbo state is the least effective place you can be! Exploring is valuable, but at some point you have to act what you have learnt. Even if what you learnt was really not what you were hoping to learn...
My perspective is that I can still have a major impact via donations. The more I earn, the more I can donate. The more frugal I live, the more I can donate too. Unfortunately the EA Community is no longer as supportive of people who see their primary way to impact via donations as it once was. I don't think I would have come to my current perspective if I had joined the EA Community in recent years. But Giving What We Can is ramping up again and holding some events if this is a path you might be interested in.
I am still working in the UK Civil Service and have worked here for 3.5 years by now. I do consider the direct impact of my work in the Civil Service to be trivial compared to the donations I can make thanks to my earnings. I have increased my pay by ~135% compared to when I started (not inflation-adjusted). How much this has increased my donations is a bit harder to say as my finances and donations are mingled with my husband's.
I do not consider myself settled as I expect my earnings to tap out now. My original plan was to switch to the private sector this year, but this has been tricky as tech is having a downturn. All my Civil Service roles have been data/tech roles. I also considered some other direct work options this year, but there were very few I was interested in (both due to poor fit as well as doubts over their actual impact) and none of them panned out.
Hope this helps and feel free to reach out anytime. I am sorry you are in this position.
They are explicitly mentioned in the post though, a few paragraphs in.
I have also barely reported, despite keeping the pledge for 10 years. Will finally get my reckoning with missing out on the pin though...