Making a Career Out of Your Passion for Helping Others

According to a study performed by the Society for Human Resource Management, around 94% of respondents said that they wanted to partake in a career that allowed them to contribute their skills towards a cause they believed in. If you’re a part of this group, there are plenty of ways for you to live out your passion for helping others.

An obvious solution would be to do volunteer work or contribute to a charitable cause. But what if you could do this every day and earn a good living at the same time? If the average person spends around 90,000 hours of their life at work, putting those hours towards something that benefits humanity in a meaningful way would be great.

The good news is that there are countless careers that involve contributing to the wellbeing of others. Many of them come with a rewarding and satisfying work environment, strong advancement opportunities, excellent benefits and great pay. To inspire you and give you a better idea of where to look, we’ll explore a few of these careers in this post.

Massage Therapist

As a massage therapist, you’ll be contributing to the wellbeing of others by bringing your clients relief from pain, stiffness and injuries. The massage therapy industry is forecasted to grow by an impressive 26 percent, as people develop an increasing concern for health and wellness.
The annual salary range for a massage therapist is anything between $21,000 to $78,000. But depending on your approach, you can expect to make much more. Considering the work environment, few careers are as relaxing and satisfying than that of a massage therapist.

Nursing

Being a nurse allows you to make a significant impact on many people’s lives on a daily basis, sometimes going as far as saving them. The registered nurse workforce is expected to grow by around 15% by 2030, with an intensifying shortage of workers as the baby boomer generation retires.
According to multiple surveys, nurses experience some of the highest levels of job satisfaction and an exciting work environment. Not only is nursing an enjoyable career path, but it’s also highly respected. In fact, the Varkey Foundation found that nursing is the 6th most respected job in the world.
Flexible schedules, advancement opportunities, dynamic work environments, travel opportunities and great benefits are just the icing on the cake. To make things even better, you can study through an online nurse practitioner school, which is more affordable and flexible than traditional study opportunities, so be sure to take a look.

Early Childhood Educator

Contributing to the positive development of children makes for a highly satisfying career. As an early childhood educator, your job will involve teaching children five years old or younger and keeping them safe. Your passion for helping will go a long way in fostering the development of a strong, intelligent and independent future generation.

Nutritionist

Do you have a passion or interest in what we eat and how it impacts our wellbeing? If so, the job of a nutritionist might be a good career path to pursue. This job involves developing eating plans based on the goals of your clients. For example, some might be suffering from a chronic illness, while others might simply want to lose weight.
Your contribution to their wellbeing is a noteworthy one, as you’ll be making a significant difference in one of the most important aspects of people’s lives, putting them on the right path when it comes to their health. Nutritionists can expect to make between $38,460 and $84,610 per year on average, but some make much more.

Personal Trainer

If your interests lie more in the realm of exercise and fitness, then being a personal trainer is a great way to live out your passion for helping others. As a personal trainer, you’ll use your expert knowledge of the human body and nutrition to guide people towards their goals. This includes helping them lose weight, recover from injuries and become more fit.
The work environment for a personal trainer is often very satisfying and rewarding. You’ll get to connect with a variety of people from all walks of life on a daily basis while making a significant contribution to their wellbeing. Since consciousness around our wellbeing is growing, the personal trainer industry is set to experience a job growth of 10%.

Human Service Assistant

Most of us have experienced a difficult time in our life where it felt like there was nobody around to help. If this is something you can relate to, you can make a significant impact on other people’s lives by becoming a human service assistant. In this career, you’ll find yourself working with people who are experiencing hardships.
As you work with your clients, you’ll spend your time monitoring their progress, recommending treatment solutions and putting them in touch with other community support services. It’s a highly respected career, and one that is set to grow by around 16% in coming years.
Addiction Recovery Specialist

Despite our increased concern for health and wellbeing, many people in the United States still struggle with addiction. Most of these individuals are simply helpless and need guidance as to how they can live a more prosperous, addiction-free life. As an addiction recovery specialist, you can help rehabilitate them and put them on the right path.

Cosmetologist

A career that involves helping others doesn’t necessarily have to include saving lives. Being a cosmetologist is a great example. In this line of work, you’ll be offering your clients beauty services to help them look and feel the best they possibly can. This is an especially suitable career path for if you enjoy beauty and cosmetics.
Typical services include applying makeup, giving manicures and pedicures, recommending skincare routines, styling, coloring and cutting hair and performing facials. There’s no telling just how much potential this type of career has. You could open up your own salon, or even become a celebrity stylist who works for famous actors and singers.

Security Guard

It’s arguable that security guards don’t receive nearly as much respect and credit as is due to them. After all, their job is extremely important. Without them, we’d always have to worry about our own safety. So, if you enjoy the idea of protecting people from danger, being a security guard is a considerable career path.
If you enjoy the idea but don’t feel like being on the frontlines, you might find that specializing in the production or sales of security equipment is a better way to go. If the opposite is true, there are many paths to consider here, including being a personal bodyguard, or even a police officer.

Marriage Counselor

Did you know that almost half of all marriages in the US will end in divorce or separation? The unfortunate result of this is that many ex-partners become resentful towards their spouse, or simply lonely and depressed. As a marriage counselor, you can help prevent this by offering support and guidance around people’s relationship issues.

Scientist

Being a scientist doesn’t typically involve helping people in a one-on-one situation, but your efforts will benefit society as a whole in a variety of ways. For example, you could develop new cures to common illnesses or diseases, potentially saving millions of lives for years to come.

Dental Hygienist

Thanks to our sugar-loaded modern diets and unhealthy lifestyle choices, just about everyone ends up with a dental issue at some point in their lives. You can change this by being a dental hygienist. In this line of work, you’ll spend your time teaching patients about dental care, recommending and monitoring treatment plans and fixing their teeth.
Working in a dental office is best suited for those who prefer a calm and relaxing work environment. Due to the standard qualification requirement of an associate’s degree, dental hygienists can expect high salaries, often topping $100,000 per year. Perhaps even better is the fact that job growth in this industry is forecasted to be an impressive 20%.

Psychologist

If you have an interest in the workings of the human mind and a passion for helping others through difficult times, being a psychologist is a considerable career path. There are a variety of different approaches that you can take. For example, forensic psychologists work with prisoners to foster the positive development of inmates. Educational psychologists work with children who have learning disabilities, while neuropsychologists help patients with brain injuries. Health psychologists deal with physical health aspects of life such as addiction… the list goes on. Either way, you can expect an interesting and rewarding career with excellent pay and benefits.

Conclusion

Perhaps most astounding is that these careers make up a small fraction of all the jobs that involve contributing to the overall wellbeing of mankind in some form or another. This is great, but it does make choosing just one of them rather difficult.
Consider the study opportunities you have available and what you’re most passionate about. Look at your local city or state and think about what it needs most. Perhaps there’s a lack of healthcare services, or maybe a drug issue that needs to be solved. Regardless of what you end up doing, rest assured your work will be appreciated by many.