Strongly agree. I think that the narrative around choosing work/job/career tends to focus on sector/industry a bit too much,[1] whereas the tasks that people tend to do on a regular basis have a much larger impact. A marketing manager working for a event organizing company and a marketing manager working for a alternative protein company likely have more similar work than two people working in different functions for the same organization.
In fact, I vaguely recall reading something within the past year or two about how people who choose a particular field (such as teaching) often choose it because of 'broad' reasons (such as love of education, and wanting to share knowledge), but most of the time is spent on tasks that aren't as enjoyable (such as grading papers, lesson planning, classroom discipline, etc.). Trying to generalize that to an EA context, I'd encourage young people to develop a specific skill (project management, research, public relations, etc.) more than I would encourage them to learn about a specific area (alternative protein, anti-malaria bednets, wild animal suffering, etc.). This isn't a well-thought out thesis, but it is an idea that I've been bouncing around for few months. But if any readers have thoughts, I'd love to read your comments.
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Not just within EA but also within American society. I can't really speak confidently regarding to other countries.
Very strongly agree, based on watching the career trajectory of lots of EAs over the past 10 years. I think focusing on what broad kinds of activities you are good at and enjoy, and what skills you have or are well-positioned to obtain (within limits: e.g. "being a really clear and fast writer" is probably helpful in most cause areas, "being a great salsa dancer" maybe less so), then thinking about how to apply them in the cause area you think is most important, is generally much more productive than trying to entangle that exploration with personal cause prio exercises.