Marx as a Career Counsellor?

“To consider this choice seriously is therefore certainly the first duty of the young man who begins his career, who does not wish to leave his most important affairs to chance. (…) The main guide that must direct us in the [choice of profession] is the welfare of mankind (…) [T]he nature of man is so constituted that he can attain his perfection only by working for the perfection, for the good of his fellow men.”

Seriously — this curious quote from 17-year-old Karl Marx is where it all began. I encountered it in my university’s course catalog in the description of a student-organised seminar on “Career Choice Ethics.” It was the fall of 2016 and the seminar was organised by the Berlin local group for Effective Altruism.

Real-World Impact Instead of Philosophical Abstraction

There were three of us at the first session. I was the only one who had shown up apart from the two facilitators. I got a 2-on-1 crash course in the world of 80,000 Hours and was thoroughly impressed.

The timing was good. I was feeling increasingly unhappy with my philosophy degree (analytic philosophy, by the way — I’d come despite Marx, so to speak) and was on the lookout for alternatives to an academic career.

Trying to actively make the world a better place — instead of just understanding it better philosophically (and, in my case, not even doing that very successfully) — suddenly seemed like a far more meaningful project.

Into Working Life

Through involvement in the Berlin EA group and also in animal rights activism, Effective Altruism gradually became a bigger part of my life.

Then, in 2018, things got more serious professionally: in the context of the “Operations Bottleneck” narrative from 80,000 Hours, I landed a student job at the Effective Altruism Foundation (now the Center on Long-Term Risk) — with a bit of luck and being in the right place at the right time. I wanted to test my fit, and nearly seven years later, I’m still here: in a generalist role at a small EA organisation.

Donor Relations? Huh?

After the foundation relocated to London, I joined Effektiv Spenden where our mission is to promote evidence-based, impact-driven giving in the German-speaking world. As the first full-time employee alongside founder Basti Schwiecker, I’ve been responsible for a wide range of areas over the years. The organisation has grown significantly since then – in donation volume, team size, and professionalism – and I’ve grown with it. Today, as Director of Donor Relations, I’m responsible for various communications matters and also oversee our expansion into Austria, where I grew up.

Between email drafts, spreadsheets, and attempts to explain what “Donor Relations” even means, I often forget that my work actually does quite a lot of good. My 17-year-old self would’ve pictured things very differently. But when I take a moment to reflect on what drives me to do it (aside from status-seeking, vanity and the usual suspects), I feel grateful — and also a little bit proud of the career I’ve built so far.