The speaker discusses the common career advice "follow your passion" and how it may not be the most effective approach. They share their personal experience of being unsure about their career path after university and how they eventually founded an organization called 80,000 hours, which provides free online careers guidance.
The speaker argues that the "follow your passion" approach has several flaws:
1. It assumes that everyone's passions align with available jobs, which is not the case.
2. Even if someone's passion matches a job, it doesn't guarantee success or fulfillment.
3. Research has shown that there is no strong connection between interest match and job satisfaction.
Instead, the speaker suggests a new approach: "do what's valuable." This means focusing on developing skills that can be used to make a positive impact in the world. The speaker provides three practical steps to achieve this:
1. Explore and learn about the world to discover what problems need to be solved.
2. Develop in-demand skills that can be applied to solving these problems.
3. Apply these skills to solving the biggest and most pressing social problems.
The speaker concludes that doing what's valuable can lead to a fulfilling career and personal happiness, and that it's a more effective approach than simply following one's passion.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker graduated from university without knowing what career they wanted to pursue.
2. The speaker was interested in martial arts, philosophy, and finance, but didn't know which one to turn into a career.
3. The speaker founded an organization called 80,000 hours to research and provide careers advice.
4. The organization's name comes from the estimated 80,000 hours people have in their working life.
5. The speaker spent three years researching with academics at the University of Oxford and coaching hundreds of people on how to make real career decisions.
6. The speaker believes that careers advice today focuses on the wrong thing and that following one's passion is not a reliable way to achieve a fulfilling career.
7. A survey of 500 Canadian students found that their greatest passions were ice hockey and dance, but only 3% of jobs are in art, sport, and music.
8. Research has shown that even if people match their passion with their work, they may not find the work meaningful or fulfilling.
9. The speaker believes that doing what's valuable is the secret to a fulfilling career and that it involves getting good at something that genuinely helps others and makes the world a better place.
10. The speaker cites Professor Martin Seligman's book "Flourish" as evidence that doing what's valuable is a key ingredient for happiness and fulfillment.
11. The speaker provides three practical steps for doing what's valuable in one's career: explore, build skills, and solve big pressing problems.
12. The speaker emphasizes that doing what's valuable doesn't necessarily mean becoming a doctor or working directly with people, but can involve research, technology, and spreading big ideas.
13. The speaker believes that focusing on doing what's valuable can lead to a more fulfilling career and a greater sense of purpose.
Note: I excluded opinions and personal anecdotes from the list, focusing on verifiable facts and data.