80,000 Hours career recommender
Productivity
career guidance
SHOW HN2015
80,000 Hours career recommender
A career test for people who want to have a social impact
80000hours.org#career test#social impact careers#career advice#career quiz
73points
54comments
#362of 2,565 in 2015
Top 15%of 2015 by points
How HN took it
RoastedHalf or more of the comments are critical
3 positive, 2 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 19 critical, out of 26 comments about the project. Thread score -0.44.
Idea: 1 for, 8 againstExecution: 1 for, 5 againstDesign: 1 for, 4 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Profiles and career content are useful
From 2 comments
I can support the idea here ("people wanting to have social impact"), but the quiz is probably the worst way to direct people toward that possible. Just show ~10 ways to have…
rdl on HNMaybe break it down by decision point. You decide early on about whether you prefer individual vs. group work; you decide later on whether you prioritize personal wealth (those…
rdl on HN
Idea of directing people to social impact careers is worthwhile
From 2 comments
I think it's great to encourage these kinds of work. I'm old and wish I had made my impact in more meaningful areas. Lots of people here have changed the world. I can't be the…
kw71 on HNI appreciate the sentiment, that if you look at just gross impact, then a quant/hedge fund/think tank career might actually be more helpful than something more traditionally…
roneesh on HN
Objections
Quiz is an unreliable way to assess careers
From 3 comments
I can support the idea here ("people wanting to have social impact"), but the quiz is probably the worst way to direct people toward that possible. Just show ~10 ways to have…
rdl on HNIf you're bad at math, poor at writing or analyzing arguments, and have the competitive instinct of a Care Bear, you're a 10/10 for a think tank researcher. I find it a little…
code_sterling on HNWhile that was fun, you get what you aspire to be. The bias is tied to your appraisal of your skills and potential and a few arbitrary pieces of info. That being said, the top 3…
vonklaus on HN
Cutesy answer subscripts are annoying
From 2 comments
The cutesy answer subscripts are really lame. I really did not want to complete the survey after the first question.
guci22 on HNI also disliked them and thought they were mainly inaccurate reflections of the preceding question. Being logical is not the same as being a math whiz. Being analytical is…
parsnipsumthing on HN
Recommended careers seem narrow and favour tech and think tanks
From 3 comments
Think tank researcher and economics professor? These are good careers for people who want to change things? Citation needed.
neilk on HNA lot of these suggestions seem really...douchey (for lack of a more precise term). I guess theoretically you can have a great social impact being a hedge fund quant or a startup…
ForHackernews on HNedit: I get what the organisation is trying to do now. Just doing the survey put me off a bit though, even once I read through other parts of the site. IMO there's a lot of hand…
plaguuuuuu on HN
Team lacks diversity, undermining social impact claims
From 2 comments
Why is it targeted as such. Agism is a social issue, found predominantly in several of the industries suggested. edit: I just took a quick glance at your 'Meet the team' page,…
code_sterling on HNNo, you're not, you're actually the cause of the problem. If you were actually doing what you claim, then more than one person on your staff be anything other than white. You are…
code_sterling on HN
Social impact is poorly explained
From 2 comments
I agree. I also thought they could have done with more clearly explaining 'social impact'. Not really sure what that means.
d_theorist on HNedit: I get what the organisation is trying to do now. Just doing the survey put me off a bit though, even once I read through other parts of the site. IMO there's a lot of hand…
plaguuuuuu on HN
Requests
Include education and teaching careers more prominently
From 2 comments
I'm a programmer who left startups to go be a teacher at a public elementary school. It told me to be in politics or a tech startup founder. I'm just not sure how those can match…
kickscondor on HNedit: I get what the organisation is trying to do now. Just doing the survey put me off a bit though, even once I read through other parts of the site. IMO there's a lot of hand…
plaguuuuuu on HN
Show concrete examples and interviews of people in each career
From 2 comments
Maybe break it down by decision point. You decide early on about whether you prefer individual vs. group work; you decide later on whether you prioritize personal wealth (those…
rdl on HNI can support the idea here ("people wanting to have social impact"), but the quiz is probably the worst way to direct people toward that possible. Just show ~10 ways to have…
rdl on HN
Cover a wider age range and non-UK audience
From 2 comments
I can support the idea here ("people wanting to have social impact"), but the quiz is probably the worst way to direct people toward that possible. Just show ~10 ways to have…
rdl on HNYou can alter each of your questions responses individually to see what effect it's having on the results. We found these questions were the most useful filters when doing…
BenjaminTodd on HN
Questions
What is the basis for recommending these careers?
From 2 comments
> you should most strongly consider Based on what?
Tinyyy on HNWell you’re obviously recommending careers based on the survey, which tests on their strengths and interests, so I’ll say that you’re recommending based on their strengths and…
Tinyyy on HN
Where is the evidence that earning to give works?
From 1 comment
A lot of these suggestions seem really...douchey (for lack of a more precise term). I guess theoretically you can have a great social impact being a hedge fund quant or a startup…
ForHackernews on HN