{"items": [{"author": "David German", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/111229345142780712481", "anchor": "gp-1411651941197", "service": "gp", "text": "I haven't read any of the original articles yet, but I would think replaceability deserves more than a footnote. \u00a0There is a glut of lawyers in the US; any job that a given HLS graduate doesn't fill, someone else almost equally skilled will.", "timestamp": 1411651941}, {"author": "Allison", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103741579182942078941", "anchor": "gp-1411656470931", "service": "gp", "text": "The particular irony about Mystal's comment (\"you have to accept the premise that there is any Biglaw associate, anywhere, who is going to give away 25% of their post-tax salary. And you would have to be really dumb to accept that premise\") is that this is exactly what Bill is hoping to do. \u00a0", "timestamp": 1411656470}, {"author": "William", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/100081980245179771143", "anchor": "gp-1411658070565", "service": "gp", "text": "I agree with both critiques of my argument. \u00a0The numbers you present are much more reasonable, whereas mine were based on the inflated numbers given by the particular charitable foundations that cannot be trusted so easily. \u00a0The article was made in a provocative style to provoke a response, and perhaps that was the right choice, perhaps not.\n
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\nOne of the questions that remains is why hasn't the earn and donate path gained nearly as much publicity as the public service one? \u00a0I agree that a lot of people go into BigLaw and then do not donate, but is that partly a result of the fact that these arguments don't get enough attention?", "timestamp": 1411658070}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1411658688622", "service": "gp", "text": "@William\n\u00a0I'm also curious why the earn-and-donate path hasn't received much attention. \u00a0I've found a few historical references to it (ex: \nhttp://www.jefftk.com/p/history-of-earning-to-give-iii-john-wesley\n) but not nearly as much as you would think for such a simple idea.", "timestamp": 1411658688}, {"author": "Mikaela", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/689280913402?comment_id=689382789242", "anchor": "fb-689382789242", "service": "fb", "text": "Mark - this blog post touches on some of the things we discussed about earning to give. I thought of you when I saw this.", "timestamp": "1411703626"}, {"author": "Mark", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/689280913402?comment_id=689460194122", "anchor": "fb-689460194122", "service": "fb", "text": "Thanks!", "timestamp": "1411744049"}, {"author": "Brad", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/116032343632043704302", "anchor": "gp-1411811638471", "service": "gp", "text": "Jeff wrote \"The article isn't aimed at people who've already decided to go into corporate law, however, it's aimed at people who want to maximize the good they do.\"\u00a0\n
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\nThis highlights what I think is the main barrier to earning to give: most people choose careers because they're interested in the work, or in what the work accomplishes. With earning to give, the work and its direct accomplishments take a back seat; the primary focus is on earning a lot and giving away a high percentage of your earnings. The giving is its own reward, but if you're miserable and mismatched in your career, it's hard to imagine many people who could manage to sustain it for more than a decade.\n
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\nLaw school is hard, demanding work. Being a lawyer is hard, demanding work. You really have to want to do it, because it's going to occupy most of your time, including much of your personal time. I know a fair number of ex-lawyers, including one who decided to work as a carpenter instead. I know there are plenty of examples of people who earn to give, in many professions, but I'd be curious to see follow-up studies over the years to see how many of them managed to stick with it long term. I've actually seen articles by earning-to-givers that start by saying, \"I hate my job, but it allows me to save x lives every year, and that makes me happy.\" Hating your job is a pretty strong demotivator that counterbalances the satisfaction of saving lives. Over time, that demotivator may cause you to question your career choice; it's hard to sustain misery for many years; nobody wants to be miserable for 80,000 hours.\n
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\nOf course the ideal is to choose a career that you feel engaged in AND that earns you a high income so you can give away lots of money. That's in part what 80,000 Hours tries to help people do. I just think it's important for anyone who wants to maximize the good they do to understand that they should balance that desire against the equally important desire to be happy and engaged in their work. Otherwise it's a recipe for burnout and a career change later in life. A person who's engaged and happy in their work but only makes $80K/year could conceivably do more good over their lifetime (because they'll stick with their career) than someone who makes $250K/year but detests their job and leaves or changes careers after 5-10 years.", "timestamp": 1411811638}]}