How to get into AI safety in 3 months (article reading by career advisor Matt Beard)

The AI safety field has grown by about 30x in the last eight years. Yet it is still in need of more people. Many want to help, but don’t know where to start.

As an advisor at 80,000 Hours, Matt Beard spoke with hundreds of talented candidates, and found himself repeating the same advice on almost every call. As he puts it: “These steps are hard, but they’re not particularly complicated.” And if you’re “efficient and driven,” he thinks you can pivot within three months.

That doesn’t mean quitting your job to study full time. A steady effort of 30 minutes a day can go much further than frenzied hours of weekend studying. Matt suggests articles you can consume during your morning coffee or commute.

This narration covers his full crash course, from foundational reading to landing a spot in one of the field’s many fellowships and incubators.

Read Matt’s original article on Substack: https://80000hours.substack.com/p/how-to-get-into-ai-safety-in-3-months

Note: Since writing the article, Matt has left 80,000 Hours for a role at Coefficient Giving.

Chapters:

• Matt's introduction (00:00:00)
• 1. Build your foundational knowledge and AI safety context (00:01:00)
• 2. Identify the in-demand skills you have or could build (00:03:50)
• 3. Apply for fellowships and jobs (00:06:03)
• 4. Networking is cliche, but seriously, you should go talk to people (00:08:12)
• 5. If you aren't breaking through to jobs or fellowships yet, do deliberate practice and develop a portfolio of side projects (00:10:37)
• 6. Work in public and tighten your feedback loops (00:12:15)
• 7. Don't wait for permission to do the kinds of work that you want to be doing. (00:14:20)
• Imposter syndrome, burnout, and acknowledging how hard this all is. (00:15:40)

Resources from 80,000 Hours:

• 11 essential readings on AI safety, risk, and alignment
• Career reviews in AI safety
• Career services: our AI advisor, free 1:1 career advising, and job board
• Our top tips for successful networking
• Survey results: what AI safety orgs want in a hire
• Want to upskill in technical AI safety? Here are 67 useful resources
• My experience with imposter syndrome — and how to (partly) overcome it

Other resources:

• AISafety.com
• Courses from BlueDot Impact
• ARENA curriculum
• Why experienced professionals fail to land high-impact roles
• What are some exercises and projects I can try?
• AI Safety Talent Network

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Our production team includes:

• Video editors: Josh Alward, Dominic Armstrong, Jasper Luithlen, Milo McGuire, Luke Monsour, Simon Monsour
• Producers: Elizabeth Cox and Nick Stockton
• Coordination and support: Katy Moore and Lou Moran