When it comes to choosing a career, the majority of us are encouraged to follow the motives of money and success. We live in a society where a huge emphasis is placed on the amount of money that an individual earns and the authority that their position gives them in wider society.

However, it’s extremely important to bear in mind that there are other things in life that matter. If you solely pursue money and authority, the chances are that you are going to have to walk over a few people to get there. This isn’t a lifestyle that appeals to the more caring and empathetic amongst us. The good news is that there are plenty of careers that can afford you a comfortable quality of life at the same time as helping others rather than using them to our advantage. Here are just a few to consider!

Teaching

Teachers nurture the minds of future generations, endowing little ones with the knowledge and skills to create their own opinions, develop specific academic and creative interests, and secure qualifications for their career progression. You can also ensure that little ones have a positive schooling experience, helping their self-confidence to flourish rather than dwindle as they grow older. If this sounds like something that you are interested in, you should ensure that you pursue necessary teaching qualifications, have a clean criminal record, and browse Teaching Vacancies in your local area.

Public Safety

Every day when we leave our homes, we enter public spheres. The majority of the time, we will be able to engage with these spaces while feeling safe and secure. This doesn’t happen of its own accord. There are various individuals out there who work together to ensure public safety and keep the spaces you have to pass through to work, socialize, and complete day to day tasks aren’t of any danger to you. Positions in public safety include:

• Correctional officers – individuals who are responsible for overseeing people who have been arrested and who are awaiting trial in the courts.
• Paramedics – professionals who attend medical emergencies and treat sick or injured individuals in a whole host of public settings.
• Police and Detectives – officers who protect public lives and public property.
• Firefighters – service people who respond to fires and other emergencies or accidents.

Generally speaking, you will have to complete formal education in this area through a course like Laurier’s safety degree online before being entrusted with roles that entail such responsibility. But the time and effort will prove more than worth it! Not only for you but for others too!

Midwifery

Every single day, around 350,000 babies are brought into this world. In the past, people tended to give birth at home and take care of the deliveries themselves. However, this was perhaps one of the main contributing factors to complications during deliveries and consequently increased numbers of infant and maternal fatalities during the birthing process. Nowadays, higher degrees of hygiene and better availability to medical care means that more and more mothers and babies are coping with the process of giving birth safely and successfully. By becoming a midwife, you can help with this process!

Helpline Operator

When people find themselves experiencing difficult situations, they can often feel confused or alone. This is where helpline operators can come into play. There are increasing numbers of specialist helplines out there offering support to whoever might happen to call in. They tend to operate around the clock and ensure that individuals who are experiencing difficulties at least have someone who can listen to their problems and thoughts. Becoming a helpline worker can be a high-pressure job, as you can find yourself on the phone to individuals who are suffering. But you will generally be trained to a high standard and will know how to deal with different questions and situations. You will then be able to offer advice and support!

Social Work

Social workers’ role is to protect vulnerable members of society. You can help people to adjust to major changes in their personal lives (such as grief, divorce, illness, or unemployment), as well as intervening in situations where individuals such as children, the elderly, or anyone else are in harm’s way at the hands of another. When you get engaged with social work, you really can change people’s lives for the better! This is a relatively high-pressure job, as you can find yourself dealing with emergencies. But generally speaking, it’s more than worth the effort!

Mental Health Counseling

Mental health has long been a relatively taboo subject in society, and many of us may have found ourselves avoiding talking openly about our experiences with mental health issues or concerns. Think about it – most of us will feign a physical illness to get time off work when we are suffering from mental hardship and difficulties. This has proven to be problematic, as people tend to avoid getting the treatment and care that they may need to live a happy, full, and healthy life. Luckily, there has been a recent surge in people encouraging others to be more open about their difficulties and an encouragement of acceptance of mental health issues.

You can contribute to this betterment of mental health awareness and can also help individuals suffering from mental health issues by becoming a mental health counselor. Your role will help patients to understand their condition and what they are experiencing, as well as helping them to manage their personal and professional lives around mental illness. You may focus on crisis management. Working with such vulnerable individuals can offer them the opportunity to cope with their issues effectively and change their lives for the better!

Charity Work

Okay, charity work may not be a career choice. Most positions do tend to be voluntary and unpaid. But when we live in a society where the individual is prioritized, and we always tend to put ourselves and our closest loved ones first, it can become easy to forget the sheer amount of suffering going on in the wider world. Every once in a while it would be good for us to wholeheartedly turn our attention to others in the world who are significantly less fortunate than ourselves. Suffering takes a whole manner of forms – poverty, illness, prejudice, and much more.

Taking on charity work allows you to support the charities that dedicate their time and resources towards challenging these issues and genuinely making the world a better place. There are various ways that you can give to charity, and most people will offer donations or subscribe to a monthly direct debit out of their bank accounts. This is great. But you could work for these charities, offering them your time and commitment. Consider running a charity fundraiser, working in a charity store, or offering your skills up to campaigns that your chosen charity might be running.

As you can see, there are a whole host of careers out there that are perfectly suited to people who want to impact the lives of others around them positively. These are just a few to consider, but hopefully, they have got the ball rolling in the right direction!

The post Pursuing a Career That Can Positively Impact the Lives of Others appeared first on Miss Millennia Magazine - Big Sister Advice for Millennials.