“Aspiring AI Safety Researchers: Consider ‘Atypical Jobs’ in the Field Instead.” by Harrison 🔸

Housekeeping notes: This was hastily written; there might be some bad phrasing here and there – Forgive me! This advice may not apply to everyone. It was inspired a lot by my personal experience moving away from research and into “other” roles in AI safety, starting around September 2024. I’ve previously written a little bit about why I’ve enjoyed fieldbuilding and why I’ve found it valuable in the bottom of this other post as well) _____ TLDR: Non-research roles in AI safety don't appear to get enough attention, despite a lot of professional benefits that they offer (e.g. skillbuilding in neglected-yet-important skills like people management; higher impact). People who might otherwise be interested in AI safety research careers could consdier more atypical roles (and many of these can still feel "research adjacent"!) _____ In 2024, I made a decision to move across the ocean and start a new [...] --- First published: October 6th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/dQirWPSdLHBfrHCiJ/aspiring-ai-safety-researchers-consider-atypical-jobs-in-the --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.