Benjamin Todd

Just as we saw with choosing a problem, this means the most effective approach for you will be something you enjoy, that motivates you, and is a good fit for your skills.

We sometimes come across people tempted to do a job they'd hate in order to have more impact.

That's likely a bad idea, since they'll just burn out.

Their example could also discourage others from using their careers to do good.

An outstanding charity worker will likely do more good than a mediocre engineer earning to give, and the reverse is also true.

We cover the importance of personal fit and how to work out which career is best for you in Chapter 8.

But don't worry if you feel unsure, that's normal.

Finding a career that fits often takes many years.

If you're at the start of your career, it's fine to just have some vague ideas about where you're aiming and make them more specific over time.

And while personal fit is important, it's also important not to narrow down too early.

As we've seen, people often underestimate how easily they can become interested in new jobs.

So it's important to explore widely, giving yourself a chance to become interested in new approaches, but then to focus on what's going well.

You also don't need to limit yourself to your background so far.

80,000 hours is a long time, and so you have a lot of scope to learn new skills.

Putting personal fit aside, note that there is no single best approach for every problem.

Rather, focus on the approaches that are most needed by the problems you want to solve.

For instance, breast cancer doesn't need more advocacy to promote awareness because almost everybody is aware that breast cancer is a problem.

Instead, it probably needs more skilled researchers to develop better treatments.

If you just focus on raising awareness, then your efforts won't go as far.

Also consider that these approaches are not mutually exclusive, and you can do more than one at the same time.