Open position: writer

By · Published April 19th, 2022

Applications to this position are now closed.

80,000 Hours is looking for full-time staff writers to publish well-researched articles to help people use their careers to help solve the world’s most pressing problems.

About the 80,000 Hours web team

80,000 Hours provides free research and support to help people find careers tackling the world’s most pressing problems.

We’ve had over 8 million visitors to our website (with over 100,000 hours of reading time per year), and more than 3,000 people have told us that they’ve significantly changed their career plans due to our work. We’re also the largest single source of people getting involved in the effective altruism community, according to the most recent EA Community Survey.

Our articles are read by thousands, and are among the most important ways we help people shift their careers towards higher-impact options.

The role

As a writer, you would:

  • Research, outline, and write new articles for the 80,000 Hours website — e.g. new career reviews.
  • Rewrite or update older articles with information and resources — e.g. about rapidly evolving global problems.
  • Generate ideas for new pieces.
  • Talk to experts and readers to help prioritise our new articles and updates.
  • Generally help grow the impact of the site.

Some of the types of pieces you could work on include:

Which of these you’ll focus on will depend to some extent on your strengths and interests, as well as the needs of our audience. But as some indication of what success in the role might look like, over the next year, you might do things like:

  • Research and write the most comprehensive and widely read assessment of an under-explored problem area — e.g. whole brain emulation, global surveillance, or potential existential risks from totalitarianism.
  • Revamp our career planning course into a MOOC or interactive guide.
  • Write a popular overview of high-impact career advice by major for undergraduates.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who has:

  • Strong knowledge of and commitment to the ideals, philosophical arguments, and values of effective altruism and longtermism.
  • Great communication skills.
  • An aptitude for research and writing.
  • The ability to learn quickly and independently.
  • Excitement to work on whatever kinds of projects are highest priority.
  • A good fit with our cultural values.
  • Ideally, a track record of producing high-quality writing. This can include things like blog posts, articles, reports, and substantive Facebook posts — especially for broad audiences, and especially on topics related to effective altruism and longtermism. But even if you don’t already have a track record, we’d still encourage you to apply if you think you might be a good fit for this role.

We’re aware that factors like gender, race, and socioeconomic background can affect people’s willingness to apply for roles for which they meet many but not all the suggested attributes. We’d especially like to encourage people from underrepresented backgrounds to apply!

Details of the role

This is a full-time role. The salary will vary based on experience, but to give a rough sense, the starting salary for someone with one year of relevant experience would be approximately £61,000 per year.

We strongly prefer people to work in-person in our London office if possible, but are open to remote work in some cases. We can sponsor visas.

The start date of the role is flexible, but we would expect you to start during 2022 and prefer you to start as soon as you’re available.

Our benefits include:

  • The option to use 10% of your time for self development
  • 25 days of paid holiday, plus bank holidays
  • Standard UK pension with 3% contribution from employer
  • Private medical insurance
  • Generous parental leave
  • Long-term disability insurance
  • Flexible working hours
  • Gym, shower facilities, and free food provided at our London office

How to apply

To apply, please fill out this application form by 9am GMT on Monday, May 16, 2022.

We expect it’ll take most people under 45 minutes. If you have any problems submitting the form, please send your CV to [email protected].

The application process will vary depending on the candidate, but is likely to include 1-3 written work samples, an interview, and a multi-day in-person trial. The work samples and trial will be paid.

Check out other positions at 80,000 Hours