Telos Fellowship

Telos is a structured programme to help you figure out which career path is right for you, using tools developed by several Effective Altruism organisations.

Throughout the programme, you will work through this structured workbook to clarify your priorities and evaluate your options. A central component is a rigorous weighted factor model (WFM) assessment, which will help you systematically compare different career paths and identify the most promising directions.

Between sessions, you will carry out 'cheap tests' — low-cost, practical ways of exploring different roles or fields — to build real-world insight. These tests are essential for narrowing your options and focusing on the three most promising paths.

We expect participants to already be familiar with core EA concepts (such as cause prioritisation, career capital, expected value reasoning). Though no formal interaction with EA is required, we expect a level of familiarity similar to the completion of an Arete Fellowship. 

Eligibility

• Participants should have a working familiarity with core EA concepts: cause prioritisation, career capital, expected value reasoning, roughly equivalent to completing an Arete Fellowship or engaging seriously with 80,000 Hours. No formal EA involvement is required, but this is not an introduction to EA.

• Participants must be based in Oxford and able to attend all three sessions in person.

• The programme is open to everyone — undergraduates, postgraduates, non-students, and all academic backgrounds. No technical or scientific background is assumed or required.

Meet your facilitator

Telos will be facilitated by Aida, who is currently navigating her own transition from a 15-year career as a professional pianist into high-impact work — and has recently completed a rigorous career planning process of her own to get there.

Likely schedule

• Saturday 9 May, week 2 (16:30–18:30)
  Sections 4 & 5: Criteria Selection and Career Path Selection
  Homework: Review and refine your selections

• Saturday 16 May, week 3 (16:30–18:30)
  Sections 7 & 8: WFM Ranking and Next Steps

• Sunday 24th May, week 4, progress report due (@11.59pm)
  No session — independent time to carry out “cheap tests”

• Saturday 30 May, week 5 (16:30–18:30)
  Final discussion and follow-up testing

Practical Details

• Technical requirement: Please bring a charged laptop

• Location: Trajan House, Mill Street