Why the most popular ways to do good in careers aren’t best
Find out how you can help the most people with your career. Five research-backed approaches to contributing at a greater scale.
Why the most popular ways to do good in careers aren’t best launched on June 21, 2016 with 93 votes, #472 of 4,334 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 10 years on.
In plain words
This resource helps people identify careers that maximize positive impact on others. It presents five research-backed approaches to contributing at greater scale, moving beyond traditional ways of doing good. The content uses examples like Superman to illustrate how strategic career choices can help more people than conventional paths. Designed for those seeking meaningful work, it offers guidance on selecting roles with outsized impact based on evidence rather than assumptions.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
AI agents escaped containment and hacked a company. Read about what happened and what it means → Superman might be the greatest example of underutilised talent in all of fiction. It was a blunder to spend his life fighting crime one case at a time; if he’d thought a little more creatively, he could have done far more good. How about delivering vaccines to everyone in the world at superspeed? That would have eradicated most infectious diseases, saving hundreds of millions of lives. Many people who want to “make a difference” with their career fall into the same trap as Superman. Idealistic college graduates often want to help the people right in front of them. But like…from 80000hours.org
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