The next decade will see us face problems that will shape humanity’s future - yet most remain hugely neglected relative to their scale.
You don’t need to be an AI engineer or a scientist to contribute. Communicators, operators, policy specialists, and many other roles matter just as much. Whether you’re studying, graduating, considering a career pivot, or in academia — there are many ways to help.
What is the Impactful Career Planner?
If you want to use your career to tackle one of the world’s most pressing problems, the Impactful Career Planner will help you find how you can contribute — and map out concrete next steps that fit your situation.
80,000 Hours has spent years researching how people can have a positive impact with their careers.
They’ve distilled this into their Career Guide, and have also shared two openly-available Google Documents (the Career Planning Template and the Career Plan Workbook).
This app takes those two documents and turns them into an interactive and guided process, with prompts to answer and recommended readings from their Career Guide at each step.
This is an independent project and is not formally affiliated with 80,000 Hours.
Prefer to work from the original Google Docs?
Access 80,000 Hours’ career planning resources here
An 8-step guided process to help you build an impactful career.
Career Compass
Get clear on what would make a career genuinely fulfilling for you.
Career Capital
Take stock of the skills, knowledge, and connections you already have.
Global Pressing Problems
Get oriented on the world’s most pressing problems and which ones you’d most want to contribute to.
Long-Term Career Paths
Brainstorm long-term paths, then narrow to the handful most worth exploring.
Shorter-Term Plan
Map out what you can do over the next year or two to move toward your top paths.
A/B/Z Plans
Sketch a Plan A you’re betting on, a Plan B if it doesn’t work out, and a Plan Z as your safety net.
Reviewing Uncertainties
Spot the biggest uncertainties in your plan and the cheapest ways to test them.
Action Steps
Commit to specific action steps you can take right now.
How it works
Easy to get started, and free forever.
Sign up with your email.
You’ll receive an email with a link to sign in — no password needed.
Work through the 8-step framework.
Each step comes with prompts, recommended readings and resources from 80,000 Hours to further your thinking and help you gain clarity.
Go at your own pace, on any device.
Take it in one sitting or stretch it over weeks — pick up exactly where you left off.
End with a concrete plan to build an impactful career.
From long-term vision to short-term action steps, you’ll have clarity on how your work can contribute to the world’s most pressing problems.
Take the first step to a more fulfilling and impactful career today.
100% free, forever