Working in a job seems that supports a mission of helping those in need may seem like a dream. However, there are plenty of careers that serve to uplift lives every day. Many of these positions are also high paying jobs, allowing those who give back to their communities to also live comfortable lives. Here are ten careers that serve the needy and earn competitive salaries:
Protecting The Innocent
One of the most poignant troubles faced in our communities is the suffering of innocent people, often children and abused women. On-the-ground rescue workers are often perceived as blue collar people, yet surprisingly upper-ranking first response professionals such as the detectives who investigate crimes against innocent victims earn well above $70,000 per year in metropolitan areas.
Similarly, social workers are often perceived to be low-wage earners. However, leadership positions in this critical field, such Social Services Directors, earn well over $100,000 per year.
Nonprofit leadership provides important guidance in a variety of social services fields, supporting causes as vast as the imagination. While salaries can vary widely for this role that forms the structure and policy of many of society’s safety nets, most will earn similarly to their peers in the for-profit world.
The Road To Recovery
The road to recovery after trauma, illness, or addiction can be a long one. Critical careers such as occupational therapists and mental health professionals bridge the space between suffering and living a fulfilled life. These individuals provide ongoing support to ensure that people entering into physical and mental recovery reach and sustain both their immediate and long-term goals.
Recovery and counseling therapists offer specific help and guidance to drug and alcohol addiction victims. Particularly at private, luxury facilities such as St. George drug rehab, therapists will earn much higher than their counterparts in public health facilities such as state institutions. Earning a Master’s degree or higher will ensure the greatest opportunities for advancement into upper management roles within organizations, or the ability to enter into private counseling practice.
Recovery professionals of all types frequently work with nonprofit organizations, shelters, law enforcement, educational institutions, and other entities to provide a full suite of services to those in need.
Building A Better Future
Of course, the ultimate goal of those seeking to help those in need is to be the catalyst for change the means no more suffering occurs. There are invaluable careers in mentoring and education at all stages of life that provide the framework for the sustainable success of both individuals and communities. Even at the elementary school level, lead teachers may earn up to $80,000 per year in some communities, all while shaping the minds of future generations.
Advocacy workers are agents of change in a variety of fields, spanning the entire spectrum of human rights. Frequently working as the movers between practical agencies serving the public and policy makers through lobbying and political representation, advocacy workers will earn widely variable salaries dependent upon their specific focus. Those with advanced degrees, particularly with a background in law, will have the greatest opportunities.
Finally, visionaries such as entrepreneurs and inventors of product, process, and thought often create new worlds that change the opportunities for individuals and communities vastly for the better in less than a generation. Whether it be creating vaccines, or finding new means to supply water to populations, or even developing simpler ways to distribute knowledge and data freely, visionaries have often paved the road to a brighter future for all. However difficult it would be to pinpoint a salary for our entrepreneurs and inventors, there contributions are priceless.
