0:00:01.480,0:00:03.680
When I graduated from university,

0:00:03.680,0:00:06.874
I didn't know what career[br]I wanted to choose.

0:00:06.874,0:00:09.037
I had a lot of interests,

0:00:09.037,0:00:12.660
but which interest should I pursue[br]and try and turn into a job?

0:00:13.167,0:00:17.171
So, back then, I was really[br]interested in martial arts.

0:00:17.171,0:00:18.778
Here's me.

0:00:18.778,0:00:21.554
But I didn't want[br]to turn that into a career.

0:00:21.554,0:00:23.034
Here's my face.

0:00:23.034,0:00:24.711
(Laughter)

0:00:24.711,0:00:28.465
I was really interested in,[br]and I was studying philosophy,

0:00:28.465,0:00:31.135
but one of the philosophers[br]I most enjoyed reading -

0:00:31.135,0:00:32.895
late at night, in my dorm room -

0:00:32.895,0:00:34.377
recently said,

0:00:34.377,0:00:37.357
"Philosophy is a bunch of empty ideas,"

0:00:37.357,0:00:40.067
and there's no job in philosophy, anyway.

0:00:40.067,0:00:41.835
So that was out.

0:00:41.835,0:00:43.795
Being a slightly weird kid,

0:00:43.795,0:00:46.935
I was really interested[br]in investing and finance,

0:00:46.935,0:00:50.486
and I had even taken[br]a portion of the small savings I had,

0:00:50.486,0:00:53.720
and invested them into gold[br]when I was a teenager.

0:00:53.720,0:00:58.411
I knew that following the finance root[br]would be a really well-paid career,

0:00:58.411,0:01:00.014
but I was wondering, like,

0:01:00.014,0:01:02.834
maybe I wouldn't make[br]as much difference as I could in that,

0:01:02.834,0:01:04.374
it wouldn't help society,

0:01:04.374,0:01:07.154
so in the end, it wouldn't[br]really be that fulfilling.

0:01:08.358,0:01:10.348
I was left with the question,

0:01:10.348,0:01:12.731
"How could I choose a fulfilling career?"

0:01:12.731,0:01:16.183
And, maybe many of you[br]have asked yourself the same question.

0:01:16.183,0:01:17.873
I thought about this question,

0:01:17.873,0:01:20.873
I realized I didn't even know[br]how to go about choosing a career,

0:01:20.873,0:01:24.143
and I, you know, read books,[br]I went to careers advisors,

0:01:24.143,0:01:27.643
I just couldn't really find[br]the information I really needed:

0:01:27.643,0:01:29.708
what would I be good at in the end?

0:01:29.708,0:01:31.482
What skills should I learn now?

0:01:31.482,0:01:35.462
Which areas is there a great social need[br]where I can make a difference?

0:01:35.462,0:01:38.748
These unanswered questions led me to,

0:01:38.748,0:01:41.242
kind of, delay the decision[br]by a few years.

0:01:41.242,0:01:43.342
Instead of actually settling on a career,

0:01:43.352,0:01:46.722
I founded an organization[br]dedicated to researching the question

0:01:46.722,0:01:48.614
of which career to choose.

0:01:49.472,0:01:51.951
And this organization[br]is called "80000hours,"

0:01:51.951,0:01:54.800
that's the number of hours you have[br]in your working life,

0:01:54.800,0:01:56.110
that's a long time,

0:01:56.110,0:01:59.000
so, it's worth really[br]doing some serious research,

0:01:59.000,0:02:01.650
and try to work out how best to use them.

0:02:01.650,0:02:03.557
We help you do some of this research,

0:02:03.557,0:02:05.227
and we publish all of our findings;

0:02:05.227,0:02:09.389
it's part of a free online careers guide:[br]80000hours.org.

0:02:09.389,0:02:11.228
Here's some of the team today,

0:02:11.228,0:02:14.794
surrounded by laptops[br]and whiteboards, as normal.

0:02:16.426,0:02:20.926
So, you might at this point[br]be thinking to yourself,

0:02:20.926,0:02:24.646
"Well, you hardly look like[br]you're above the legal age to drink,

0:02:24.646,0:02:28.225
what could you tell me[br]about choosing a career?"

0:02:28.671,0:02:31.797
Well, it's true that one[br]of the main things we discovered

0:02:31.797,0:02:34.662
is that we have a lot to learn.

0:02:34.662,0:02:38.458
Choosing a career is a complex problem[br]and not enough serious research

0:02:38.458,0:02:41.129
has been done into how best to do it.

0:02:41.129,0:02:43.115
But we have spent the last three years

0:02:43.115,0:02:46.609
doing research with academics[br]of University of Oxford,

0:02:46.609,0:02:47.679
and most importantly,

0:02:47.679,0:02:51.469
we've coached hundreds of people[br]on how to make real career decisions.

0:02:52.215,0:02:55.285
All this research and thinking[br]has led us to the conclusion

0:02:55.285,0:02:59.193
that careers advice today[br]focuses on the wrong thing.

0:03:01.350,0:03:02.790
Throughout most of history

0:03:02.790,0:03:05.080
people basically did[br]what their parents did.

0:03:05.970,0:03:09.217
Some people in the 1980s thought,

0:03:09.217,0:03:10.497
"The greed is good,"

0:03:10.497,0:03:12.877
and they focused on making money.

0:03:12.877,0:03:15.986
But our generation grew up[br]with some different careers advice,

0:03:15.986,0:03:19.025
and that's that you should[br]follow your passion.

0:03:19.506,0:03:21.525
You can see that use of this phrase

0:03:21.525,0:03:24.823
increased dramatically[br]from the mid-nineties.

0:03:25.665,0:03:28.919
But today I think need to move[br]beyond "Follow your passion,"

0:03:28.919,0:03:31.579
as the career advice to focus on,

0:03:31.579,0:03:35.309
and instead of asking[br]what our own interests and passions are,

0:03:35.309,0:03:37.249
we should be focusing much more

0:03:37.249,0:03:40.954
on what we can do for other people,[br]and to make the world a better place.

0:03:42.014,0:03:44.459
Ok, so let's go back to my decision,

0:03:44.459,0:03:47.100
how would "follow your passion"[br]apply to me?

0:03:47.100,0:03:50.800
I think what "Follow your passion"[br]tells you to do is three things:

0:03:50.800,0:03:54.530
the first is to identify[br]your greatest interests;

0:03:54.530,0:03:58.625
second, find careers[br]that match those interests;

0:03:58.625,0:04:01.598
thirdly, pursue those careers,[br]no matter what.

0:04:01.598,0:04:02.908
Finding a fulfilling career

0:04:02.908,0:04:06.278
is just a matter of having the courage[br]to pursue your passion.

0:04:07.508,0:04:08.662
In my case,

0:04:08.662,0:04:11.712
I was interested in martial arts[br]and philosophy, remember?

0:04:11.712,0:04:14.322
So, which career should I pick?

0:04:14.322,0:04:15.772
Any ideas?

0:04:17.042,0:04:20.452
I should obviously become a Shaolin monk -

0:04:20.452,0:04:23.301
Buddhism and martial arts, together.

0:04:25.223,0:04:28.133
What's the theory behind this advice?

0:04:28.133,0:04:29.695
You get passion match,

0:04:29.695,0:04:32.415
then you really enjoy your work,[br]you're really motivated,

0:04:32.415,0:04:34.635
so you're more likely to be successful,

0:04:34.635,0:04:37.825
and if you are successful[br]doing something you're passionate about,

0:04:37.825,0:04:40.535
then you have a fulfilling career.

0:04:40.535,0:04:42.306
And, spelled out like that,

0:04:42.306,0:04:45.773
this really does sound[br]like pretty reasonable advice, right?

0:04:46.514,0:04:49.337
I can maybe get behind that.

0:04:49.337,0:04:52.517
But let's just think about it[br]in a bit more depth.

0:04:53.466,0:04:58.056
Turns out if you follow your passion,[br]you're probably going to fail.

0:04:59.168,0:05:00.518
Why do I say that?

0:05:00.518,0:05:02.265
Let's look at the data.

0:05:03.185,0:05:07.145
A survey of 500 Canadian students[br]found that their greatest passions

0:05:07.145,0:05:09.519
were ice-hockey and dance.

0:05:10.185,0:05:12.415
Ninety percent of them were passionate[br]

0:05:12.415,0:05:15.515
about sports, arts,[br]music, something like that.

0:05:16.629,0:05:19.451
But if we look at census data we can see

0:05:19.451,0:05:23.881
that only three percent of jobs[br]are in art, sport, and music.

0:05:23.881,0:05:25.337
So it just has to be the case

0:05:25.337,0:05:28.857
that even if only one in ten people[br]followed their passion,

0:05:28.857,0:05:32.014
still, the majority would[br]fail to be successful.

0:05:32.964,0:05:35.434
So this first step just doesn't work.

0:05:36.965,0:05:39.845
I think the second step[br]is also not reliable.

0:05:39.845,0:05:44.005
In that, even if you match[br]your passion with your work,

0:05:44.005,0:05:45.255
and you're successful,

0:05:45.255,0:05:48.865
you can stlll quite easily fail[br]to have a fulfilling career,

0:05:48.865,0:05:52.268
that's because you might not[br]find the work meaningful.

0:05:52.268,0:05:54.869
This was a bit like me[br]deciding not to go into finance,

0:05:54.869,0:05:56.809
I thought, well, I was interested in it,

0:05:56.809,0:05:59.759
maybe I could be successful[br]but I wouldn't make a difference,

0:05:59.759,0:06:02.059
maybe it would still end up[br]not being fulfilling,

0:06:02.059,0:06:05.225
so I think the second step[br]doesn't work either.

0:06:05.669,0:06:08.854
Now, at this point you might be thinking,

0:06:08.854,0:06:11.784
"Sure, passion[br]isn't the only thing that matters,

0:06:11.784,0:06:15.575
if I follow my passion,[br]it doesn't guarantee that I'll succeed,

0:06:15.575,0:06:19.305
but maybe at least makes me[br]more likely to succeed,

0:06:19.305,0:06:20.925
and to have a fulfilling career."

0:06:20.925,0:06:23.205
As a career advice,[br]this is the best we can do.

0:06:24.255,0:06:26.374
But I think that is wrong as well.

0:06:26.805,0:06:31.501
Picture to yourself now,[br]the most assertive person you know,

0:06:31.501,0:06:34.321
who' s really passionate[br]about selling and persuading,

0:06:34.321,0:06:36.791
and they're really extroverted.

0:06:36.791,0:06:38.468
Surely someone like that should go

0:06:38.468,0:06:43.698
and become an advertising[br]accounts manager, like in Mad Men,

0:06:43.698,0:06:46.568
or they should become a car salesman,[br]or something like that,

0:06:46.568,0:06:50.858
something which involves selling,[br]being extroverted, and talking to people.

0:06:50.858,0:06:53.838
Well, it turns out that would[br]be a really bad decision:

0:06:53.838,0:06:55.838
analysis of a determined study showed

0:06:55.838,0:07:00.198
that really passionate sales people[br]really persuasive, assertive types

0:07:00.198,0:07:02.718
who went into those kinds of sales jobs

0:07:02.718,0:07:06.818
actually ended up more likely[br]to burn out and in fact died younger

0:07:06.818,0:07:09.514
than normal people who take those jobs.

0:07:09.919,0:07:12.989
Following their passion[br]actually made them more likely to die.

0:07:12.989,0:07:14.769
(Laughter)

0:07:16.439,0:07:19.799
And more generally, researchers have tried[br]to show for decades

0:07:19.799,0:07:23.849
that there's a strong relationship[br]between interest match

0:07:23.849,0:07:28.479
and how successful and happy[br]people end up in their work,

0:07:28.479,0:07:31.888
but so far, they failed to show[br]a strong connection between the two.

0:07:32.798,0:07:36.282
I think this isn't because your interests[br]just don't matter,

0:07:36.282,0:07:38.995
but it's just that when it comes[br]to real career decisions,

0:07:38.995,0:07:41.665
your interests are just not[br]a decisive factor,

0:07:41.665,0:07:43.115
other things matter much more,

0:07:43.115,0:07:45.765
like what your skills are,[br]and what your mindset is.

0:07:46.755,0:07:50.668
Indeed, we think our interests matter[br]a lot more than they do,

0:07:50.668,0:07:53.908
because we really underestimate[br]how much they change:

0:07:53.908,0:07:59.020
just think about your own interests[br]five or ten years ago,

0:07:59.020,0:08:00.840
and how different they are from today.

0:08:00.840,0:08:03.600
I mean, back then,[br]you're probably this tall,

0:08:03.600,0:08:06.530
and you're probably interested[br]in completely different things.

0:08:06.530,0:08:08.064
Five or ten years time,

0:08:08.064,0:08:11.404
you will be interested[br]in totally different things again.

0:08:12.272,0:08:15.332
All this means that your present interests

0:08:15.332,0:08:18.312
are just not a solid basis[br]on which to chose a career.

0:08:19.832,0:08:23.332
So, if we're not going to focus[br]on interests,

0:08:23.332,0:08:25.214
what should we focus on?

0:08:25.214,0:08:27.452
If you're not just going[br]to follow your passion,

0:08:27.452,0:08:29.322
what should you do instead?

0:08:29.322,0:08:32.759
If I had to sum up careers advice[br]as a single slogan,

0:08:32.759,0:08:36.250
here's what I would choose:[br]"Do what's valuable."

0:08:38.658,0:08:40.398
By this I mean

0:08:40.398,0:08:44.198
focus on getting good at something[br]that genuinely helps others,

0:08:44.198,0:08:46.528
and makes the world a better place.

0:08:46.528,0:08:49.278
That's the secret to a fulfilling career.

0:08:52.253,0:08:56.363
Now, obviously doing what's valuable[br]is going to be better for the world,

0:08:56.363,0:08:58.443
you're going to do more good like that,

0:08:58.443,0:09:01.033
but people have also thought for millennia

0:09:01.033,0:09:04.643
that helping others is the secret[br]to be personally fulfilled and happy.

0:09:04.643,0:09:07.153
I've just got a representative[br]couple of quotes here

0:09:07.153,0:09:08.603
just read out the first one:

0:09:08.603,0:09:12.533
"A man true wealth[br]is the good he does in this world."

0:09:14.117,0:09:18.460
Today we actually[br]have hard data to back this up.

0:09:19.347,0:09:23.675
Professor of Psychology Martin Seligman[br]in his 2011 book: Flourish,

0:09:23.675,0:09:27.605
aimed to sum up the last couple of decades[br]of empirical research

0:09:27.605,0:09:32.129
into what really causes people[br]to be satisfied and happy in their lives.

0:09:32.130,0:09:34.280
And two of the key ingredients[br]he identifies

0:09:34.280,0:09:36.740
just are doing what's valuable.

0:09:36.740,0:09:41.001
The first of these is achievement,[br]or sometimes called mastery,

0:09:41.001,0:09:43.511
and this means getting really[br]good at something,

0:09:43.511,0:09:46.381
working hard and getting good[br]at something.

0:09:46.381,0:09:49.471
The second is meaning,[br]also called purpose,

0:09:49.471,0:09:53.221
and this means striving to do something[br]greater than just make yourself happy,

0:09:53.221,0:09:55.451
so it means making[br]the world a better place.

0:09:55.451,0:09:56.491
Put the two together,

0:09:56.491,0:09:59.111
get good at something[br]it makes the world a better place,

0:09:59.111,0:10:01.101
do what's valuable.

0:10:01.101,0:10:05.479
I think, doing what's valuable has[br]lots of other personal benefits as well.

0:10:05.479,0:10:06.489
For instance,

0:10:06.489,0:10:11.290
even if you work in a charity,[br]the people who have the greatest impact,

0:10:11.290,0:10:12.710
do the most valuable things,

0:10:12.710,0:10:16.270
find it easier to raise fundings,[br]and therefore pay their bills,

0:10:16.270,0:10:18.490
and that's important, too.

0:10:18.490,0:10:20.521
I have at least found[br]in my own experience,

0:10:20.521,0:10:23.921
if you focus on helping others,[br]then lots of people want you to succeed,

0:10:23.921,0:10:26.981
so it's actually easier[br]to be successful as an altruist

0:10:26.981,0:10:29.581
compared to just being in it for yourself.

0:10:30.967,0:10:34.597
So, it now turns out that actually[br]the advice "Follow your passion,"

0:10:34.597,0:10:36.746
just gets things backwards.

0:10:37.057,0:10:40.637
Rather than start from what we happen[br]to be passionate about now

0:10:40.637,0:10:43.657
and then hope that success[br]and a fulfilling career will follow,

0:10:43.657,0:10:45.377
instead, it's much more true to say

0:10:45.377,0:10:47.557
that we should focus[br]on doing what's valuable,

0:10:47.557,0:10:51.147
and then that will lead to passion[br]and a fulfilling career.

0:10:52.217,0:10:55.220
I've definitely found this[br]in my own experience.

0:10:55.787,0:11:00.047
If when I was 16,[br]you had given me this careers test:

0:11:00.047,0:11:02.437
"Would you like to give[br]career guidance to people?"

0:11:02.437,0:11:04.767
I'd have clicked the "Hate it" button.

0:11:04.767,0:11:06.512
I was pretty shy and into science,

0:11:06.512,0:11:10.052
and the idea of giving careers advice[br]to people was not appealing at all.

0:11:10.052,0:11:13.212
But now I spend all of my time[br]thinking about careers advice,

0:11:13.212,0:11:16.013
and am absolutely obsessed[br]and fascinated by it.

0:11:17.335,0:11:19.445
Focusing on doing what's valuable

0:11:19.445,0:11:23.155
has given me clear, concrete,[br]meaningful goals,

0:11:23.155,0:11:25.275
and that's made my life a lot better.

0:11:25.275,0:11:27.195
There's no more endless reflection

0:11:27.195,0:11:30.325
on which of my interests[br]represents my true calling,

0:11:30.325,0:11:32.545
which doesn't exist anyway.

0:11:34.166,0:11:37.216
So, how can you actually do[br]what's valuable in your careers,

0:11:37.216,0:11:39.896
what practical steps should you follow?

0:11:39.896,0:11:41.966
This is what we spend most of our time

0:11:41.966,0:11:44.056
trying to work out at 80000Hours,

0:11:44.056,0:11:46.306
I'm just going to give you[br]a super-quick summary

0:11:46.306,0:11:49.366
of three things we'd say that you can do.

0:11:49.366,0:11:52.144
The first of these is to explore,

0:11:52.144,0:11:53.813
learn what you can about the world,

0:11:53.813,0:11:56.563
and test yourself out in different things.

0:11:56.563,0:11:58.243
If you want to do what's valuable,

0:11:58.243,0:12:00.803
you have to discover that[br]out there in the world,

0:12:00.803,0:12:04.536
you can't figure it out just by thinking[br]about your own interests.

0:12:05.426,0:12:10.025
Secondly, go after some skills,[br]and try and get good at them,

0:12:10.025,0:12:12.065
these are skills[br]that are really in demand,

0:12:12.065,0:12:14.725
and can be used in many different areas.

0:12:14.725,0:12:19.768
I might pick computer programming[br]as an example for the next decade.

0:12:19.768,0:12:22.296
This bit is where your passions[br]do come in,

0:12:22.296,0:12:24.756
thinking about your passions does come in.

0:12:24.756,0:12:26.728
Because what you're passionate about now

0:12:26.728,0:12:30.458
can give you clues about what you can get[br]really good at in the future,

0:12:30.458,0:12:32.038
so that's worth thinking about,

0:12:32.038,0:12:34.748
but they're not[br]the only thing that matters.

0:12:34.748,0:12:36.746
And then when you get those skills,

0:12:36.746,0:12:40.066
go and find the biggest, [br]most pressing social problems you can,

0:12:40.066,0:12:43.086
and apply your skills to solving them.

0:12:43.086,0:12:45.544
Don't just pick a problem[br]that is important,

0:12:45.544,0:12:50.104
try and find one that's been unfairly[br]neglected by other people,

0:12:50.104,0:12:52.834
because that's where you'll have[br]the greatest impact.

0:12:53.724,0:12:56.632
And finally, don't think[br]that in order to do what's valuable,

0:12:56.632,0:12:59.972
you have to become a doctor,[br]and personally go to Africa,

0:12:59.972,0:13:02.592
and help people with your own two hands.

0:13:02.592,0:13:04.481
Big social problems can be,

0:13:04.481,0:13:09.711
and often are solved by research,[br]by developing new technology,

0:13:09.711,0:13:12.542
by spreading big ideas in the arts.

0:13:13.521,0:13:15.136
The key is to work out

0:13:15.136,0:13:18.066
where your skills can fit in[br]to have the greatest impact.

0:13:20.409,0:13:23.519
I think the idea that we should[br]focus on doing what's valuable

0:13:23.519,0:13:26.029
is actually really intuitive one.

0:13:26.029,0:13:28.846
I want you now to imagine[br]that you are on your deathbed,

0:13:28.846,0:13:32.596
and you are looking back[br]at your 80,000 hours career,

0:13:32.596,0:13:34.736
rather than just about to start it,

0:13:34.736,0:13:38.746
and picture to yourselves two ways,[br]you could have gone.

0:13:38.756,0:13:40.963
In the first you say to yourself,

0:13:41.899,0:13:45.041
"I was good at what I did,[br]I enjoyed what I did,

0:13:45.041,0:13:49.271
I made lot of money,[br]now I have two houses, and a yacht,

0:13:49.271,0:13:51.511
but what was it all for? "

0:13:52.121,0:13:54.415
In the second you say to yourself,

0:13:54.415,0:13:58.865
"I absolutely worked my arse off[br]at a charity, and it often wasn't easy,

0:13:58.865,0:14:00.135
but through my efforts

0:14:00.135,0:14:04.325
I was able to prevent the deaths[br]of 100 children due to malaria,

0:14:04.335,0:14:06.315
but what was it all for?"

0:14:07.249,0:14:09.519
The first scenario happens all the time,

0:14:09.519,0:14:12.579
but the second scenario[br]is almost unimaginable,

0:14:12.579,0:14:15.512
of course, that was a worthwhile career.

0:14:16.215,0:14:19.530
Altruism is one thing you'll never regret,

0:14:19.985,0:14:22.823
if we really want to be fulfilled[br]in our own careers,

0:14:22.823,0:14:25.683
we have to stop focusing so much[br]on our own interests,

0:14:25.683,0:14:28.733
and instead, ask what we can do[br]for other people.

0:14:28.733,0:14:33.136
Imagine a world in which[br]that was the thought on everyone's minds.

0:14:33.996,0:14:38.301
So, to find a work you love,[br]don't just follow your passion,

0:14:38.301,0:14:40.286
rather do what's valuable.

0:14:40.821,0:14:44.702
Explore, build skills, [br]solve big pressing problems.

0:14:46.157,0:14:47.397
And from that,

0:14:47.397,0:14:50.967
fulfillment and a passionate[br]career will emerge.

0:14:50.967,0:14:53.347
You've got 80,000 hours in your career,

0:14:53.347,0:14:55.950
don't waste them, do what's valuable.

0:14:56.627,0:14:59.137
(Applause)