C/O Effective Altruism McMaster
McMaster students get involved with the Effective Altruism movement to discover the career paths that enable them to do the most good
Effective Altruism is a social and philosophical movement focused on helping people have positive impacts on the world, both in their careers and in their lives generally. This movement began at Oxford University and has since amassed a number of chapters around the world.
Wim Howson Creutzberg, a second-year student at McMaster and co-president of the Effective Altruism McMaster chapter, explained that Effective Altruism attempts to use logic and reason to discover the most impactful ways to help others.
“We try to question conventional understandings of what the best ways to do good are, or even what good is. And, as it turns out, some ways of helping other people are way more impactful than others and so we do them,” said Creutzberg.
“We try to question conventional understandings of what the best ways to do good are, or even what good is. And, as it turns out, some ways of helping other people are way more impactful than others and so we do them."
Wim Howson Creutzberg, Co-president of Effective Altruism McMaster
For example, according to Creutzberg, the Effective Altruism movement has been advocating for increased resource allocation towards pandemic prevention and mitigation since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
More generally, Creutzberg also explained how the movement has investigated what makes charities most effective at helping people. Thinkers in the movement have analyzed numerous charities and determined which ones are most effective, so that people donating to charities can consider how to have the greatest impact with their donations.
Thinkers in the movement have analyzed numerous charities and determined which ones are most effective, so that people donating to charities can consider how to have the greatest impact with their donations.
Effective Altruism is a relatively new movement, with Giving What We Can, the first international Effective Altruism movement, launching in 2009. According to Creutzberg, the McMaster chapter of Effective Altruism is even newer.
“We're really excited about this stuff because what we’ve realized is that, even as university students, our potential to do good is kind of crazy,” said Creutzberg.
While the Effective Altruism group at McMaster is not currently ratified as a club, they are hoping to achieve this status in the future. They have other future ambitions as well, such as potentially developing a small course for McMaster students who are interested in the movement.
“There's a lot of ground to cover when you start [introducing a] movement and sometimes a self-directed approach is better for some people, [whereas] sometimes being systematically introduced to ideas can be really helpful,” said Creutzberg.
Creutzberg described the Effective Altruism group at McMaster as a small but rapidly growing group of students who meet to discuss how they can have the most positive impact on the world.
“I think it could help ambitious students find meaningful careers and interesting and genuinely valuable ways to spend their time and money. And I think that could, at the very least, enrich the discussion around trying to create a better world,” said Creutzberg.
“I think it could help ambitious students find meaningful careers and interesting and genuinely valuable ways to spend their time and money. And I think that could, at the very least, enrich the discussion around trying to create a better world."
Wim Howson Creutzberg, Co-president of Effective Altruism McMaster
Emphasizing the potential of the Effective Altruism chapter at McMaster, Creutzberg said that the movement can impact the lives of students by helping them decide where to direct their energy for meaningful action.
Graphic By: Yoohyun Park/Production Coordinator
A degree no longer guarantees a job, it’s time for universities to tell us why
By: Ardena Bašić, Contributor
A higher education is often touted as a means to working in higher-paying, more revered professions. However, students often end up in positions they neither expected nor desired after graduation. In fact, Forbes reports that individuals holding a bachelor's degree experience higher unemployment and underemployment rates. Specifically, a report from the New York Federal Reserve revealed that 33.8% of college graduates are underemployed, which means they are working jobs that do not even require a degree.
The COVID-19 crisis has not helped this issue, with Canada still steadily trying to regain the hundreds of thousands of jobs the pandemic eliminated from the country. Despite pouring thousands of dollars into their education, students are struggling to find reasonable work that connects to their degrees.
The solution to this issue is for universities to be more honest about what careers their programs can lead to, with an emphasis on professions that can be obtained without extra training or a graduate education. This will allow students to make a more informed decision on their post-secondary education and balance their expectations.
After graduation, it seems logical that one with a science-based degree would search for jobs in research or healthcare. Moreover, someone with a business degree might look for jobs in a field within the world of business. However, depending on the degree and the courses contained, some programs may not lead to jobs that seem to be common sense.
One reason this might be is that some programs focus on classroom learning, as opposed to exponential learning, like co-op. The lack of experience that comes with classroom-based programs has been shown to deter employers from hiring graduates from such programs.
The lack of experience that comes with classroom-based programs has been shown to deter employers from hiring graduates from such programs.
Other factors concern the idea of "prestige" that is associated with some programs or universities and a lack of networking skills integrated into programs. The former has even been formally studied, with results showing that students graduating from more reputable universities are 40% more likely to receive a positive response from employers. Any of these reasons could be justifiable for companies looking to hire. Thus, schools need to be honest about where they stand so students know what to expect when job-searching post-graduation.
Yet, the key to this transparency needs to be carefully articulated and prepared. Schools cannot simply state that an education in political science can lead to jobs in public service and likewise. Rather, they need to do empirical studies on alumni and graduates to be certain of the information they are conveying. Students will likely find information about the careers that alumni have followed to be more trustworthy than if they are to simply try and connect similar themes between programs and careers. Schools should begin conducting this type of research and perhaps even include alumni interviews or mentorships for students, both programs that will also be helpful in building a student’s resume.
Overall, choosing the right university and program is a pivotal step in beginning any career. Students should have all the information they could possibly need to make the right decision, including the profession they might consider in the future. Universities need to take steps now to ensure that students’ potential futures are transparent and accessible.
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By: Bina Patel
Allison Rutland is arguably one of McMaster’s most notable alumni. She graduated from the Faculty of Humanities in 2002 with a concentration in Multimedia and Fine Arts. She now works for one of the world’s most renowned animation studios, Pixar. Just a few weeks ago the talented alumna won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in A Feature Production at the University of California for her work in Inside Out.
Rutland considered pursuing a career in animation early on but she did not give it much thought, especially while attending high school. She recounted, “I was interested in it when I was younger but then in high school I thought I would be an environmental scientist, and then ended up going to McMaster for Art.”
She credited McMaster for establishing a theoretical perspective of art, and noted two professors in particular. “Judy was the painting professor and Hugh was the life drawing [professor] — they were really good, I really enjoyed them,” Rutland said.
The move from McMaster to Pixar Animation Studios was a gradual process. After her undergraduate education, Rutland applied to Sheridan College for computer animation. And after working on film and television in Toronto and London for a few years, she decided to apply to Pixar in California, something she says friends helped her accomplish. “I had friends who were at Pixar three years before me and it kind of made me want to apply here. They helped me submit a reel.”
Rutland says working on animated films requires a range of skills. Animators are assigned various shots by the leads, followed by a shot briefing. “You get a series of shots and you animate what’s in those shots. Sometimes there might be several characters and sometimes there might be one character. It’s not a definite thing,” she explained. Rutland and her team have worked on some high profile movies, including Brave, Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. She says that Sully remains one of her favourite projects. “I had a fun time on Monsters University. I ended up getting a lot of Sully shots and kind of got to know that character well because I got so many shots with him. It was really fun.”
The staff works rigorously on these films and, according to Rutland, animators always feel their comfort zone is being pushed. “It’s one of those jobs where you’re always learning. You kind of have to approach it almost as a student every time and you’re always going to come across something that’s really difficult,” she said. “I like that aspect of it because I always challenge myself to learn and get better.”
Of the 120 animators at Pixar there are roughly 25 women, a ratio Rutland explained has affected the way some characters are created. Brave for instance was a female heavy film and therefore required for a high level of femininity in its characters. “When there’s a female character, you kind of end up getting the women to animate them cause they can bring a certain amount of femininity that maybe the men wouldn’t know about. All my shots were Merida, she was the only character I animated with them,” she explained.
Rutland is thankful for all the small steps that led her transition from an undergraduate at McMaster to an animator at Pixar. “It’s a really great job, I love it. I feel very lucky to have gotten in at this time to be where I am.”
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I’m reaching the end of my degree. This will be the last semester of my undergraduate, and the first question that everyone but my cat wants the answer to is “where are you working after you graduate?” So on the cusp of graduation I have one honest recommendation for anyone looking for work: stop listening to almost everything people tell you about your future.
I fully recognize the irony in writing an article advising you to stop listening to advice, so instead let me tell you that all advice is not created equal. You need to be wary of who is giving you guidance and how applicable it really is. Traditional places we might look for help — friends, families, teachers — might not be as helpful as you’d hoped. Anyone who hasn’t had to job search in the last ten years is likely unable to tell you how to overcome our chronic job shortage. There is a reason why our parents’ generation often advised us to get an undergraduate degree and find a steady job with benefits and a retirement package. In their time it was not uncommon to secure a career in one industry, often with a single employer. Instead, our generation will be faced with multiple careers and more jobs than we can count, shaped by an ever-changing marketplace.
So if we can’t take advice from past generations, where can we turn? Googling “career tips” returns a huge number of results, but you should also be wary of taking advice from articles online. While tips on how to write a professional email or acquiring a business casual wardrobe may be helpful, don’t mistake that advice for anything that will help you stand out in a crowd — and there will be a crowd, because for every job that is publicly posted there are going to be a flock of applicants. Be wary of advice that is available to everyone, because at best it will help you conform in the market, and at worst make you forgettable.
Another thing to be critical of are buzzwords. I am firmly convinced that anyone who tells you to develop a “personal brand” doesn’t fully know what that means either. Take phrases like “personal elevator pitch”, “networking” and “rapid skill acquisition” with a grain of salt. If you can’t understand advice because it is wrapped in ambiguous or esoteric language, it is probably not going to be very useful to you anyway.
Be especially suspicious of advice that doesn’t take privilege and oppression into account. As study after study confirms what we already knew — that women and people of color are considered to be less qualified and are less likely to be hired — telling someone to “follow their dreams” ignores the fact that pursuing a career in your desired field is much easier for some than others. The best thing you can do instead is seek out advice tailored to your situation. If you can, look for someone you admire in your field with similar life experiences and reach out to them for guidance. You would be surprised how willing people are to mentor the enthusiastic and give you advice you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere. If there is no one like you in your chosen field, just be prepared for a potentially longer and more arduous job search.
Be wary of advice that is available to everyone, because at best it will help you conform in the market, and at worst make you forgettable.
So after telling you what advice not to follow, let me give you the advice that has worked best for me: focus on yourself. Often times finding a job is an exercise in ego; we are constantly trying to prove to potential employers that we are worth their time and money. You need to see the value in your own work, otherwise how will anyone else see it too? Not everything you do will be groundbreaking, but take the time to appreciate your own improvement, and strive to get better at what you want to do. As best as you can, demand fair pay for your work, and don’t compare yourself to your friends or coworkers because it isn’t going to be helpful. Don’t let other people dictate what your career is going to look like, because at the end of the day you are the one accountable for your work.
Photo Credit: Corbis Images
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