When it comes to a profession, the job market nowadays is incredibly diverse. You have many more options than just becoming a doctor or an engineer, even though these are prestigious fields to join too. When picking any profession, there are several factors that we consider. For starters, students consider their expected salary. College can be expensive, no matter what your degree is, and it can cause many students to accumulate hefty loans.
Furthermore, students also need to consider job opportunities. However, that isn’t all there is to consider when picking your profession. Martin Luther King said that there’s nothing more significant than helping others. If we make the right choice, we can choose a domain that allows us to serve others and not just ourselves. These careers can help you make your mark in the world and avail several professional growth opportunities while improving others’ lives. With global mental health on the decline, it’s pertinent for each of us to do our part. So, read below to find seven professions that let you help others.
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PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. It is a multi-faceted discipline not limited to just therapeutic interventions alone. Understanding human behavior is an essential prerequisite for any helping profession, as the first tenant of psychology is empathy. With a psychology degree, you can work in various fields and improve your community’s mental health. HR experts can help create an incredibly conducive and productive work environment for employees. Psychological workers in schools can help ensure that teachers and students get the support they need to teach and learn effectively. An online BA Psychology degree can also be your stepping stone towards a career as a counselor. You can help people deal with various psychological disorders.
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NURSING
Nursing is one profession that has a profound impact on people’s physical and mental well-being. Nurses provide clients with primary care when they’re at their weakest and help them navigate through any disorder without judgment. Nurses work in a variety of settings and with a diverse demographic. They can help people struggling with substance abuse, work with senior patients, children, those struggling with potentially fatal diseases. Nurses can help people manage many chronic illnesses, allowing them to improve their life quality immensely. Over time, the care that nurses provide can help people to live happier lives.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE
The criminal justice system can both perpetrate and prevent injustice. The justice system is incredibly vast and holds several employment opportunities. You can work as a lawyer, in security services, as a correctional officer, and much more. However, the one thing that all these jobs have in common is that they help serve humanity and improve their communities’ mental health. These jobs help you build safer communities by reducing crime rates, thus boosting mental health. Furthermore, they allow you to work with incarcerated individuals of all demographics and help them work towards a better, crime-free life. Lawyers work with people who may get wrongfully incriminated or otherwise denied justice and help them clear their name.
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EDUCATION
The impact that teachers have on their students is immense. Teachers don’t just impart academic skills; instead, they help boost their students’ self-esteem and learning capabilities. Effective teachers can mold their students’ lives and foster positive academic emotions, helping them achieve tremendous success throughout their lives. Students spend as much time with their teachers as they do with peers or parents, making them a vital part of our lives. Good teachers can become mentors that students of any age can look up to and emulate, and boost life satisfaction. Teachers can also become part of a social support system and help students who are struggling academically or emotionally. If you want a career where you can profoundly impact people’s lives, there can be no job better than that of a teacher.
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HUMAN SERVICES
Human services professionals work in various settings and help people face substance abuse, poverty, divorce, and aging. These are all incredibly vulnerable populations who are at risk of many mental health problems. Human services professionals work in many capacities to educate these people and help them deal with their lives better. Not only do they offer their support, but they often assume leadership positions and advocate for better conditions for these populations. Human Service professions need to know psychological principles and understand society’s impact, culture, and economy. This knowledge can help them advocate for social change to improve mental health in vulnerable communities.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER
Environmental engineers don’t personally work with people, but that doesn’t mean they don’t significantly impact our lives. Environmental pollution has an immense effect on our mental and physical health. Environmental engineers help reduce and prevent ecological stress, thus reducing the incidence of physical and mental disorders. Environmental engineers help communities live in much safer environments, where they have access to clean water and air. In particular, air pollution can cause many neuropsychiatric disorders and even depression in both adults and children. Environmental engineering helps keep the effects of pollution at bay so people can live healthier and happier lives. These engineers can work in private and public sectors and design industrial systems that don’t pollute the environment or help clean up areas that are already contaminated.
CONCLUSION
Picking any of these seven professions will allow you to improve individual and collective lives and bring a positive change. Each of these fields is incredibly diverse, and there are several career paths you can take. However, no matter the route you take, you’ll get the chance to bring about positive social change and make your mark.