Earning to Give
Explore if pursuing a high-income profession, for the purpose of donating a significant portion of earned income to the most effective charities in the world, is a promising path for you
Introduction to Earning to Give
Why it matters
Earning to Give (E2G) is a strategy where individuals pursue high-earning careers to maximize their philanthropic contributions. The core idea is to earn a substantial income and donate a significant portion to effective charities, potentially having a greater impact than by directly working in those fields. This approach allows individuals to leverage their income to generate substantial social good, and to support multiple causes simultaneously.
E2G offers career flexibility, allowing individuals to choose from a wide range of careers that match their skills and interests while still contributing significantly to global welfare. By targeting donations to underfunded and high-impact areas, individuals can fill funding gaps and accelerate progress in critical but overlooked fields.
Two crucial considerations when pursuing an E2G career are the opportunity to build valuable career capital in the role, and to avoid high-earning professions that might cause harm.
Career in Earning to Give
There are some professions where the average salary is much higher than most others, and by pursuing those, more money can be donated to impactful causes. Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of them.
Tech Roles
Tech Roles
Software Engineer
Data Scientist
Cybersecurity Specialist
Finance Roles
Finance Roles
Quantitative Trader
Hedge Fund Manager
Financial Analyst
Management Consultancy
Management Consultancy
The big firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain)
In a high earning industry (finance and tech)
Independent consultant
Startup Founders
Startup Founders
Biotech Startups
Fintech Startups
General Tech Startups
From Vision to Transformation: Stories of Impact
Anton Osika Palfi
AI Entrepreneur
Anton started his career as a software engineer with experience from CERN and Sana Labs, and is now an AI entrepreneur, committed to build products that help people, and donating a share of dividends and exit to highly effective charities.
Anton Osika Palfi
AI Entrepreneur
#TAKE ACTION
Where to start?
Create a tailored career plan
Explore EA Sweden’s free career guide, helping you to understand if Earning to Give is a promising path for you
Take the 10% Pledge
The 🔸10% Pledge is a public commitment to give at least 10% of your income to the organizations that can most effectively use it to improve the lives of others
Apply for individual coaching
Get input on your career plan, or on a specific career decision, through individual coaching with EA Sweden. It’s free of charge.
Additional Resources and Learning
Found a tech startup
Become a tech startup founder
Consider applying to YCombinator, by many means the world’s most successful tech startup accelerator
Cause area profile
Learn more
Explore 80,000 Hours’ comprehensive analysis of “Why and how to earn to give”
AIM report
Learn more about founding a startup
Dive deeper into the rationale for why founding a startup could be an impactful career path in Ambitious Impact’s “Founding to Give report”
Find roles at startups
Join a startup
Explore lists of open startup roles within the area of your expertise
Forum post
Get inspired
Read AGB’s post “10 years of Earning to Give” on the EA Forum to engage with a personal story
Community
Engage and connect
Connect with other people impact-motivated earning to give people through the “Earning to Give” Facebook group