If you’re looking for a job that’s more “you,” then you should start with what you consider your core attributes and values to be. For a lot of women who have spent enough time in the role of a mother or head of a family, this can be decisiveness, leadership, resilience, and it can also be your capacity to care. While not everyone is suited to a role that requires them to care, first and foremost, there are plenty of careers that have a dire need for those who can bring that strength. Here, we’re going to look at a few, and why you might want to consider them.
Nursing
Perhaps one of the most obvious choices on the list, nurses play a vital role in hospitals, clinics, and all manner of treatment centers, as well as other locations such as care homes, schools, and more. A nurse provides both medical care and emotional support to those with health needs. It’s a job that requires a lot of resilience, as you have to deal with those who are often suffering real hardship, but few allow you to have such a hands-on effect on the well-being and health of other people.
Social work
Resilience is a core skill in many of the jobs that require a caring heart, and the same is very true of social work, as well. Social workers can provide assistance to families with all manner of issues, such as helping those facing abuse and neglect, as well as helping families cope with a range of mental, behavioral, and emotional problems. Social workers often have to work closely with families and children in particular to ensure the best outcomes for those in vulnerable positions and can be a key support for those struggling to maintain the health and well-being of their families.
Care
Of course, it’s in the name, so it’s no surprise that caring people might want to work in the care industry. This can include providing all manner of direct care, such as those who are elderly or lack independence due to illness or disability. Those who go through a CNA class can also play a direct role in assisting registered nurses and other healthcare providers, ensuring that those who are in treatment get the little bit of extra attention they need to fulfill their needs. Often, these roles involve taking direct care of basic but vital needs, such as feeding, hygiene, transport, and more.
Teaching
For those who have a particular talent and interest in helping children develop as best as possible, there are a wide range of teaching positions you may want to consider. The role of educating and nurturing students is a widely respected one (in most cases) though it can also be very demanding. Teachers have to ensure that students are given the tools to succeed as best as possible, but it can often be difficult to work with parents who may not be on the same page or to handle problem children in the class.
Child Care Provider
It may be the case that you would do well in a job that has you caring for and meeting the needs of children, but perhaps not as directly as a teacher might. Working as a childcare provider might be a little less stressful, but is very very much necessary. As more and more parents are working in two-parent or single-parent households, there is a growing need for those with the compassion and background suitable to help take care of their children’s needs and aid in their healthy development, usually before they enter school and during their early school years, as well.
Counseling
A lot of people need someone who can provide a comforting shoulder and a listening ear, and if you have found yourself in that role before, you could make it a professional. Training as a counselor requires some direct learning on top of your existing experience, but it allows you to provide direct guidance and support more reliably to those who can be dealing with all manner of personal or psychological issues. Further education could earn you a position as a psychologist, who also works to diagnose and treat a variety of mental conditions.
Physical Therapy
For those who want to provide direct healthcare (but perhaps might not want to go to medical school), then physical therapy can allow you to get hands-on. This position involves helping patients in recovering their physical function and mobility, often through carefully monitored exercise programs. Occupational therapy is often considered an offshoot of this discipline, which focuses specifically on helping patients living with an injury or disability to recover or improve the skills they need for daily living or for the work they do in their career. Either option can provide the fulfilling feeling of seeing your patients improve gradually in their independence and capacity to meet their own needs.
Nonprofit Work
There are all sorts of positions that you might be able to fill in a nonprofit, whether that’s helping to administrate or run the organization, providing direct help on the frontlines, raising funds for the cause, or otherwise. Caring people often care for those beyond their immediate circle and if you have a particular cause or concern that is of importance to you, it’s possible to get a career in the organizations dedicated to it. Aside from volunteering, these organizations have to be run by paid workers to be as effective as possible, after all.
Veterinary Technician
Caring for others can go beyond your fellow man, as well. Some people have a certain kind of steel stomach that’s necessary to help animals in need, especially those who are suffering, and that kind of resilience can work very well for a veterinary technician. While not requiring as much education as a veterinary doctor, there is still some VT training that you may need to invest time in, but it can allow you to play a direct role in caring for animals and supporting their treatments.
Hospice Work
As you may have noticed, a lot of positions that carers work best in also require some degree of emotional hardiness. Those who are able to remain professional and compassionate when faced with hard circumstances may want to consider working in hospice, offering the end-of-life care and support that can be so important to those who might be facing a terminal illness, as well as their families who might not be able to take care of their needs themselves. It’s rigorous and mentally demanding work, but there are few positions in which you can be as certain that you are doing some good in the world.
Patient Advocate
While most in the healthcare industry have nothing but the best interests of the patient at heart, they often have to weigh this motivation with the often labyrinthine demands of the organizations and health industry regulations they work with. If you want to ensure that patients are given the best care possible and to argue on their behalf as best as possible, then becoming a patient advocate might be the position for you. Their role is to direct assist patients in navigating the healthcare system with their needs, alone, as their primary concern.
If your ability to care for others, to give them the attention and time they need, and to consider their needs, is one of your primary strengths, then you should consider using that in your career. The positions above can give you a few examples of how, exactly, you can start going about it.
Stanley
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