My Professional Journey in a High-Impact Career (Just Getting Started)

Intro

This text was originally written to promote Effective Altruism initiatives on a broad network like LinkedIn, hoping to attract people to the idea of a high-impact career. I’m now sharing it here on the EA Forum to connect with others who already know these principles-and if you haven’t yet explored the EA career planning or intro programs, I highly recommend them (though I’m sure most of you already have).

A high-impact career is one where you choose to work in order to create the greatest possible benefit for the world, helping to solve truly important problems that affect many lives. The concept comes from Effective Altruism, a movement that encourages people to use their time and skills to generate positive, concrete change-especially in areas that still receive little attention or investment.

The main difference between a high-impact career and a typical career lies in the central goal. While many people choose their professions thinking about stability, personal fulfillment, or financial return, those pursuing a high-impact career make their choices looking beyond just financial gain, considering where they can help the most-where their work can transform more lives or address urgent global challenges.

There are many fields where you can build a high-impact career, such as technology (especially artificial intelligence and digital security), sustainability, health, animal welfare, psychology, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), data, and social innovation. Many of these areas-like AI safety, data science, and cybersecurity-are among the best-paid professions on the market, with competitive salaries, remote work opportunities in dollars, and benefits that often surpass those of traditional careers.

Organizations aligned with Effective Altruism recognize the importance of offering good salaries and working conditions, knowing that this allows professionals to maintain their physical and mental well-being, and also enables strategies like earn-to-give-where someone chooses a well-paid career to donate a significant portion of their income to high-impact causes. This care for employees and the commitment to evidence-based decision-making are hallmarks of these organizations, making it possible to contribute to the world without sacrificing quality of life.

To learn more about high-impact careers and explore options aligned with Effective Altruism, check out the 80,000 Hours website and read my full post!

Main Text

My name is Victoria Dias, I’m 26 years old, a software engineer by degree, and an animal activist by love. I’m an active and engaged volunteer with NGOs like Mercy For Animals Brasil, Sea Shepherd Brasil, the National Forum for Animal Protection and Defense, Sinergia Animal, and, most importantly, a volunteer at Altruísmo Eficaz Brasil (Effective Altruism Brazil) -a global community and intellectual movement that invites each person to reflect on how they can do the most good possible with the resources they have, whether by donating, choosing their career, or influencing public policy.

In addition to all my volunteer work, I currently work as Systems and Volunteer Coordinator at an NGO based in England that operates in Peru to end the worst practices in the poultry industry. I started as an Executive Assistant and, in just two months, was promoted to my current role when my experience and skills were recognized by the whole team. Now I’m responsible for turning campaign and communications needs into digital solutions: building websites, landing pages, and apps that support our actions, while also building an educational platform from scratch to continuously train volunteers and leaders. I also rely on metrics to communicate with the organization’s volunteers and ensure that every project truly increases our impact.

I’ve worked as a cashier, receptionist at a major international hotel chain, completed the rigorous training and certification required to become a licensed flight attendant in Brazil, worked on cruise ships with people from many countries and cultures, as a systems analyst at one of the world’s largest IT consulting firms, and at one of the most experienced global insurance companies. And when I turned 24, I decided to step away from the job market and dedicate myself to the most demanding unpaid profession in the world: being a mother, raising and educating a human being from scratch.

When I became a mother, my perspective on many things changed. Before my son was born, I was an angry, pessimistic, disbelieving, and hopeless person. After my son, I needed a new perspective on life, a purpose; I needed to act to ensure my son could have a dignified future and live in an empathetic and just world. Before he started eating solid foods at six months, I had already been a vegetarian since I was 18; I didn’t eat animals precisely because I didn’t want to feed on sentient beings-those who have a brain and nervous system and can feel fear, cold, pain, pleasure, happiness, and all the emotions we know so well. I wasn’t vegan yet because it was easier to eat out and find food options; in 2016, it wasn’t as easy as it is today to find foods without cheese, milk, or eggs in stores or at parties.

During exclusive breastfeeding, when I felt the pain of mastitis early in my son’s life, I began to feel disgusted by cow’s milk and realized I had no right to the calf’s milk, nor to the suffering cow-who not only lost her babies and couldn’t nurse them or feel a mother’s love but was probably enduring pain from mastitis far worse than mine. In fact, when I searched for how to treat my blocked milk ducts, all I found were people in the livestock industry asking how to treat cow mastitis.

My son was the key and motivation for me to become vegan; I needed to fight for the right of all animals to live freely and experience love for their children, and I needed to set that example for my son. When I was pregnant, I already knew I would never introduce dead animals to my son as food, and I was sure I’d present animals as beings worthy of love, not death. As a mother and my son’s primary educator, I needed to lead by example; just being vegetarian wasn’t enough anymore.

Motherhood and veganism gave me a sense of urgency that pushed me to act for longtermism-an ethical perspective that emphasizes the importance of positively influencing the long-term future, considering the potential impact of our actions on future generations. That’s what made me look for ways to work in organizations that would guide me to make these actions possible and effective; I didn’t want to return to the job market just for capitalist reasons, at a company that didn’t align with my ideals. Thanks to my husband, I had the privilege to make this choice and dedicate myself fully to motherhood, but I wanted to do more, to go further.

That’s how I found amazing organizations aligned with my values and principles, where I could volunteer for farmed animals, and also how I discovered Effective Altruism, which showed me I could go beyond-beyond volunteering, beyond the animal cause. I could have a high-impact career, grow the Effective Altruism community, keep learning about important causes, and even be paid for something I was already doing out of love. I could help raise awareness for the greater good.

From hopeless, after discovering Effective Altruism, I found a purpose that allowed me to see the world with hope again. There’s still time to change; one by one, with each small individual action, we can move masses and do it for a common goal-the good of the community, present and future, including those who don’t even exist yet but will suffer the consequences of our actions today. This brought back my drive to act, a spark that keeps me from standing still, that makes me want to learn and raise awareness more and more, always seeking to improve myself so I can share all my knowledge with others.

I strive to improve because, as I mentioned before, I’ve always been seen as angry, aggressive, someone who imposes rather than just shares my views. I couldn’t communicate the urgency of our actions towards others-human and non-human animals, the environment-without being seen as aggressive. Mercy For Animals, and especially a great friend I made there, Diogo Fernandes, introduced me to Nonviolent Communication-also known as NVC, a communication approach created by Marshall Rosenberg that aims to facilitate conflict resolution and improve personal and professional relationships through empathy, clear expression of feelings and needs, and the search for joint solutions. This changed my life; it continues to change it, because it’s an ongoing learning process I apply in every aspect of my life, in every connection, from volunteer to formal work, from motherhood to family conflict resolution.

Although I’m currently working at an organization focused on animal welfare-and mostly volunteering in organizations with the same focus, where I have the most knowledge-my main goal is to grow the Effective Altruism community, to bring more people to learn what I have about how we can have a high-impact career, and to show that it’s possible to earn a living-because we live in a capitalist world-while doing the most good possible with our skills. I want to share all this knowledge about the impact of our actions and how we can prioritize our efforts to achieve our common goals.

I started this text just to get to know myself better, practice my personal pitch, and maybe improve my LinkedIn bio; but, unsurprisingly, it turned into something I wanted to share with everyone. Even if no one reads it or cares, as with my other texts, maybe someday someone will read it and feel inspired to take positive action. After all, I try to be an optimist now.

When I introduce myself, some people reach out saying, “I want to be like you, how do I do that?” So I’ll finish this text with tips on how you can learn more about Effective Altruism and explore causes that align with your values and ideals-there are many, not limited to animal welfare. Popular cause areas within Effective Altruism also include global health and development, social and economic inequality, and existential risks to humanity’s long-term survival-from AI safety to nuclear war. And I truly hope, from the bottom of my heart, that you have the chance to invest your time in making a career switch to a high-impact path, as I’ve had the privilege and opportunity to do.

If you want to learn more about the core ideas of Effective Altruism and how to apply them in your life and career, I highly recommend the free online courses offered by the Effective Altruism community. These programs include the Introductory EA Program, the In-Depth EA Program, and the Precipice Reading Group. They are open to people from all backgrounds, flexible, and include weekly small-group discussions with a global community. You’ll explore how to have more impact with your career and donations, learn new frameworks, and connect with others who care about making a difference.
Learn more and sign up at: effectivealtruism.org/courses

The choice to change for the better is one we make every day; it’s about constant study and learning, and the most important thing is to choose to apply it-even when you make mistakes and have to start all over again. Don’t give up!