A year and a half ago, we (AI Safety Quest and Sci.STEPS) launched the pilot season of the Mentorship in AGI Safety (MAGIS) program. MAGIS was originally modeled as a simplified version of Sci.STEPS, an online mentorship program for early-career researchers.
In both programs, we connect experienced professionals with aspiring individuals eager to take their next career steps —
for AI Safety, this includes mentors from technical research, governance, and community building;
for academia, mostly from STEM fields.
On average, each pair met about six times over three months. Mentors provide their experience, guidance and support for mentee stuck at their career steps.
In addition, Sci.STEPS offers optional webinars on general career development topics such as CV writing, mental health, and coaching.
According to mentee feedback (in both programs), the experience was very positive and genuinely useful.
We saw MAGIS as highly beneficial and wanted to repeat it.
However, many of us soon took on new jobs or time-intensive projects, so continuing the program in its original form wasn’t feasible.
Fortunately, the Sci.STEPS team is still active, a new season is coming — and we can just combine both worlds, welcoming STEM researchers and AI Safety professionals alike.
This means that if you apply to Sci.STEPS as a mentor with a background in AI Safety, and we later receive mentee applications from people interested in starting a career in AI Safety, you’ll be matched with them just like in a MAGIS season.
If you apply as a mentor with a background in any STEM field, and can help young scientists navigate their career paths — whether in academia or industry — we’ll match you with someone whose interests align with yours, so you can support them in identifying their next steps.
All mentors and mentees also have access to optional webinars on general career development, which many participants find valuable.
Who can be a mentor?
Essentially, if you are not just entering the field but already have some experience — for example, knowing how to successfully apply for a PhD program, choose a research direction, or look for a job in AI Safety — you can be a great mentor for someone who would benefit from your insights.
“But what if there’s no mentee interested in my field?”
Don’t worry — in our experience, there are usually more mentees than mentors.
If a match doesn’t feel right, just let us know: we’ll try to rematch you, and if that’s not possible, you can simply skip the season. That’s completely fine.
Time commitment:
2 hours per month for 3 months (minimum).
You can, of course, meet more often if you and your mentee wish, and attend any webinars that interest you.
The program is completely free and run by volunteers — neither mentors nor organizers are paid.