TLDR: In this post, I argue that if you are a junior AI safety researcher, you should consider applying to PhD programs in ML soon, especially if you have recently participated in an AI safety upskilling or research program like MATS or ARENA, might be interested in working on AI safety long term, but don't have immediate career plans. It is relatively cheap to apply, and provides good future option value. I don’t argue that you should necessarily do a PhD, but some other posts do. PhD application deadlines are coming up soon; many application deadlines are December 15th, though some are earlier (as early as next week). For the uninitiated, I provide a step by step guide to applying at the end of this post. Applying to PhD programs might, in expectation, be worth your time. This might be true even if you are not [...] --- First published: November 29th, 2024 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PdtkXcgbRpdHWRNt6/you-should-consider-applying-to-phds-soon --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.