Are you someone who loves helping people? Would you like to have an influential job making other people’s lives better? Apart from being a doctor or a teacher, there are several career options for being a humanitarian. You can be part of an organization that helps people in need and create an impact. People often work as full-time humanitarians with organizations that provide resources to help other people. Humanitarian careers are in every sector; it is all about what interests you. There is a need for social workers in developing countries suffering from natural disasters or poverty. You can also work in the health sector and, even in technology, you can find impactful jobs.
Let’s explore some career choices that can make a difference in the world.
Foreign aid worker
A foreign aid worker can either work with the local government or an organization operating in third-world countries. They often encounter ongoing wars or contagious illnesses which can be life-threatening. They work towards fundraising, planning, and managing projects in disastrous places. They manage the limited foreign resources to provide to the local community. Although every humanitarian job involves working with people, a foreign aid worker needs to be an empath to win people’s trust.
Nurses
Nursing has been one of the most selfless jobs since the beginning, only to receive the respect it deserves in recent modern times. Nurses work privately or in NGOs tirelessly with their patients, often working extra hours. Even though nurses can now earn bachelor’s degrees and work as leaders, or even diagnosticians, the nature of their job is selfless. Nurses’ lives revolve around making people’s lives easier, making it is one of the most humanitarian careers on this list.
Firefighters
Humanitarian careers are often life-threatening, and a firefighter is top on the list of dangerous jobs. They put their lives in danger to rescue people stuck in fire tragedies. More than often, they get burns that take a while to heal. Firefighters save lives within a community and can be a hero to everyone. Brave, strong, and face-paced individuals can choose firefighters as their humanitarian career. One can also train to become a firefighter and work towards making the local community a better place.
Front line officers
Another career branch that makes a difference in people’s lives is front-line officers. Army officers, military troops, and police officers fighting conflicts fall under humanitarian professions. Deciding to become a front-line officer is one of the bravest decisions as they protect the security of an entire nation.
Special needs teachers
While teaching itself is a respectable job, being a teacher for special needs children is a fulfilling profession. They patiently work in many ways to make the lives of special needs children better every day. Humanitarian careers require people that are self-sufficient and can cope with stress. These are also the traits needed in teachers that work with children that are slow to learn or memorize.
Veterinary Assistant
Let’s not forget that working with animals is also one of the noblest jobs. It often involves first aid of domestic animals and birds while also keeping them clean. Animal lovers have empathy, are good at communication, and often require no degree. You can get training, pass a few tests to become a vet’s assistant or work in an animal shelter.
Victim advocate
Victim advocates help people who might have suffered an injustice living in a society. Victim advocates support victims of rape, violence, harassment, etc. Their roles can include:
- notifying victims of their rights and protections
- Telling victims what to expect when they report
- Attending to victim’s concerns and providing required support;
- Providing them Safety
- Looking out for their shelter and conveyance and more.
Victim advocates are often saviors and can make a difference in the lives of people in need.
Green careers
There are a lot of careers revolving around sustainability, ecology, climate change, etc. These jobs might not be all selfless but are making the earth a better place for the generation ahead of us. Green careers can include officers, managers, researchers, or engineers in:
- energy conservation
- environmental health
- nature preservation
- recycling
- water conservation
- renewable energy
- botanical sciences
- environmental law
- energy law
- Or even working under an employer contributing toward sustainability
Anything affiliated with the betterment of the earth or climate falls under green professions and can be a humanitarian career.
Charity work
Charity work has scope for anyone to make a difference in society. A full-time career in charity work can vary from fundraising to shelter provider. Charity workers can act in a community where there are many homeless people and introduce policies for the redistribution of wealth, consequently making a vast difference in the lives of needy people. They provide health policies in local hospitals or arrange education funds in local schools for the underprivileged. Charity work is done in many more ways, making it a humanitarian profession.
Conclusion
We all want to make a difference in the world, get recognized, and be a hero, but to do it all selflessly makes it worthwhile. Humanitarian professions can be exhausting and cause burnout, so it requires a lot of traits like any other profession. If you have attributes like:
- Empathy
- Great communication
- Ability to work under immense pressure
- Self-sustenance
- A passion for positive change
You can become a humanitarian and create a real difference in the world.
