My Summer Internship Reflection

Growing up in East Asian culture, where success is typically measured by the prestige of your university, the reputation of your employer, or the size of your salary, I embodied the stereotypical Asian student. I sacrificed leisure time to study subjects I wasn’t particularly good at, simply because they were “guaranteed” to lead to decent, high-paying jobs. But this approach left me questioning: what’s the meaning of life if you devote all your time to something you don’t genuinely enjoy, solely for money?

My perspective began shifting in 2023 when I read David Brooks’ “The Second Mountain.” Brooks distinguishes between a job and a vocation—a job is something you do for money, while a vocation serves a higher purpose, whether benefiting your immediate community or society at large. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that no matter how well-paying a job is, I’ll never be truly happy doing something that doesn’t interest me or lacks meaning. My recent experience applying for summer internships perfectly illustrates this evolution in my thinking.

As a PhD student in AI, nearly everyone tells you that interning at a major tech lab is essential for securing a high-paying job after graduation. When top hedge funds and tech companies reached out after I submitted my applications, I felt flattered. Naturally, poor PhD students can be easily tempted by the substantial salaries listed in job descriptions. To secure these offers, you must study and prepare for skills specific to the role—not necessarily aligned with your interests.

But then I asked myself: do I want to work on problems already solved in theory, where my role would be applying them industrially to improve advertisement algorithms or develop alpha strategies for high-frequency trading? You might argue, “Who cares? What matters is earning that big paycheck.” However, do I really want to contribute to consumerism or become a high-level “worker” managing wealthy people’s money?

Marcus Aurelius said we must live according to our nature. While I don’t deny that some people find meaning in earning money alone, even when the end goal feels superficial, I’m not one of them. Fortunately, I’ve discovered a field within AI that contains an element of altruism: AI safety.

I’m certain there are tens of thousands of people smarter than me working on artificial general intelligence (AGI). However, I genuinely believe AI safety poses a realistic threat to humanity’s future, and I’m truly curious about the underlying mechanisms of how AI works. If we train systems we don’t understand—systems with potentially higher intelligence than our own—how can we possibly control them if they decide to cause harm? I find this field both intellectually stimulating and meaningful on a larger scale.

This summer, I’m fortunate to have been accepted into MARS (Mentorship for Alignment Research Students) at Cambridge, UK, where I’ll work on projects I’m truly interested in. This opportunity represents exactly what I was searching for—meaningful work that aligns with my values and intellectual curiosity, rather than just another high-paying position.

Life is short, and I only get to live it once. If I’m an agent optimizing for some objective function, I’d rather choose one that’s meaningful and brings me a sense of purpose. Don’t let noise, distractions, or greed divert you from what you genuinely enjoy doing. May we all live meaningful lives by choosing vocation over mere jobs.