There are lots of different sorts of people in the world, but one of the best kind are those people who really care for others and want to devote their careers to helping people. The thing is, there are so many ways that people need help, and so many things that you could be doing, that if you are this kind of person, you may be a bit stumped as to what sort of profession would suit you best. There is of course, the medical field, which on its own has hundreds of different careers, including everything from being a surgeon to a physical therapist, a nurse to a pharmacist, or a midwife to a clinical psychiatrist. Outside of medicine though, what are some good job paths for people who live to care?
Charities
There are charities for every conceivable good cause, and all of them have a variety of roles that need to be done to continue their work. This means you can be someone on the ground, as it were, for example helping build villages in Africa or rescuing neglected animals, or you can work in fund raising, which is of course essential for any charity. As well as this, there are usually paid jobs in things like IT, administration and other operational things that while not directly related to ‘helping’ per se, allow people who have a leaning towards a certain type of profession outside of the caring field (like a knack for web design) to still do work that helps make the world a better place.
Counseling
If you want to work with people who have problems face to face and have a real chance to make a difference in their lives that you can see emerge over time, counseling can be a really rewarding thing to do for a living. Counselors work in all kinds of environments, including with children, troubled teens, people who have experienced serious trauma (for example soldiers), people who are recovering from addictions, and sometimes just ordinary people who are at a bad point in their lives (perhaps due to a bereavement or divorce). It is a common misconception that counselors are there to advise people. In actual fact, their role is to encourage people to talk through their problems in a constructive way, and to listen.
Care Work
Another field where you can be hands on with people who need help is as a professional carer. You can do this in places like hospices or nursing homes, or on a residential basis, and there are all kinds of people you can work with, including special needs children, elderly people, people with disabilities and people who are terminally ill. It is quite easy to find this kind of work as it is usually in high demand, so a good way to start can be to contact local home help agencies and discuss what they look for in entry level employees. You can also talk to local nursing homes, care homes and hospices and see if they hire people directly, rather than through agencies, as well.
Anthony Wong, the author of this article, is part of the team at, Family Private Care, a licensed nurse registry based in Florida. He is a culinary enthusiast and enjoys treating his clients to some of his savoury dishes.
