“Why You Should Build Your Own EA Internship Abroad” by Annika Burman 🔸

<p> I am writing this to reflect on my experience interning with the Fish Welfare Initiative, and to provide my thoughts on why more students looking to build EA experience should do something similar. </p><p> Back in October, I cold-emailed the Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) with my resume and a short cover letter expressing interest in an unpaid in-person internship in the summer of 2025. I figured I had a better chance of getting an internship by building my own door than competing with hundreds of others to squeeze through an existing door, and the opportunity to travel to India carried strong appeal. Haven, the Executive Director of FWI, set up a call with me that mostly consisted of him listing all the challenges of living in rural India — 110° F temperatures, electricity outages, lack of entertainment… When I didn’t seem deterred, he offered me an internship. </p><p> I stayed with FWI for one month. By rotating through the different teams, I completed a wide range of tasks: </p><ul> <li> Made ~20 visits to fish farms</li><li> Wrote a recommendation on next steps for FWI's stunning project</li><li> Conducted data analysis in Python on the efficacy of the Alliance for Responsible [...]</li></ul> <p>---</p> <p><b>First published:</b><br/> July 22nd, 2025 </p> <p><b>Source:</b><br/> <a href="https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/why-you-should-build-your-own-ea-internship-abroad?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Source+URL+in+episode+description&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/why-you-should-build-your-own-ea-internship-abroad</a> </p> <p>---</p> <p>Narrated by <a href="https://type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Narrated+by+TYPE+III+AUDIO&utm_term=ea_forum&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p> <p>---</p><div style="max-width: 100%";><p><strong>Images from the article:</strong></p><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/lprzo95svpzqshamflfy" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/lprzo95svpzqshamflfy" alt="Me at an animal rehabilitation center in Andhra Pradesh, India." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/ifbryzt3vgaarwkpeodq" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/ifbryzt3vgaarwkpeodq" alt="" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/bwpfdbhlyoivrrof0il0" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/bwpfdbhlyoivrrof0il0" alt="Indian Major Carps suffocating to death during a fish harvest in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/lgjtwdfigs8cjeu2hkep" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/lgjtwdfigs8cjeu2hkep" alt="" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/vtyt7ibgmkgr93tc1xln" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/vtyt7ibgmkgr93tc1xln" alt="" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/zu6cszi5fxf3cxjdfiq3" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/SmiXeQcnMD7qmAfgS/zu6cszi5fxf3cxjdfiq3" alt="" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><p><em>Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try <a href="https://pocketcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Pocket Casts</a>, or another podcast app.</em></p></div>