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How to Build a Career in Trust & Safety: Skills, Resources, and Preparation Part -1

There are currently no formal degrees in Trust and Safety. But there are plenty of resources to help you get started.


Photo by Samson on Unsplash

While hands-on experience is the most common way to learn, there are many ways to build skills outside of work, too. Whether you’re fresh out of college, transitioning from a related field, or an experienced professional wanting to stay current, here’s a structured way to build your Trust & Safety foundation.

We’ll cover four main areas:

  1. Industry Guides and Resources

  2. Publicly Shared Work by T&S Teams

  3. Building Core Skills

  4. Topical & Ongoing Learning

    1. Industry Guides and Curated Resources

    Start by exploring materials created specifically for Trust & Safety professionals.
    New ones are added all the time, so search for terms like “Trust & Safety resources” or “Risk management” on YouTube and LinkedIn to stay current.

    Some great starting points include:

    • TSPA’s Trust & Safety Curriculum – especially useful for social media T&S roles. It covers a broad range of topics.

    • Jeff Dunn’s Trust & Safety Starter Kit – created by a senior professional who founded the Trust & Safety Network.

    • Alice Hunsberger’s “Everything in Moderation” website – features “All My Trust and Safety Career Links in One Place”, one of the most comprehensive collections of industry resources.

    • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) – offers free training and resources for those interested in risk and fraud prevention.

    • Robert Miles’ YouTube channel on AI Safety – particularly his “Intro to AI Safety” video.

    Spend a full day exploring these resources. Take notes on what interests you and familiarize yourself with the key terms used in the industry. These will help you refine your resume keywords and interview talking points.

    Also, learn about the laws and regulations in your target job market:

    • For Europe: read about GDPR and DSA.

    • For the U.S.: learn the basics of CDA and COPPA.
      Even a one-page overview is enough unless you plan to specialize in policy or compliance.

    2. Learn from Publicly Shared Outcomes

    Just like architects study buildings, Trust & Safety aspirants can learn from published policies and reports.

    Start by reading Community Guidelines or Product Policies from major companies:

    • Meta, YouTube, and Uber call them Community Guidelines.

    • X (Twitter) refers to them as Rules and Policies.

    • OpenAI calls theirs Usage Policies.

    Each line in these documents reflects a decision made by Trust & Safety professionals alongside business stakeholders.

    Ask yourself:

    • Why was this decision made?

    • What behavior does it aim to prevent?

    • How could this policy be enforced?

    • Would I word this differently?

    Spend a few hours analyzing and noting patterns. This practice sharpens your understanding of the decision-making process behind content moderation and safety enforcement.

    Next, review Safety and Transparency Reports from platforms like Uber and Meta.
    These reports reveal operational metrics and KPIs such as report volumes, response times, and enforcement actions.

    Ask:

    • What does each KPI indicate?

    • Should this metric increase or decrease over time?
      Ranking these metrics by importance helps you understand how companies measure success in safety operations.

      Next Steps Will be decided in next blog. Stay tuned for next blog.





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