What motivates people to work?
While the financial aspect is, of course, a factor, there has to be something else behind how a person decides which career they’re going to pursue. It might be that they have a calling to use one of their skills. They might like the creative aspect of their chosen job.
For others it might be about helping others and using their talents to make the world a better place. If you’re one of these people, then there’s good news; the world always needs people who want to see things moving in the right direction, and there’s no shortage of job opportunities.
Take a read below, and you might just find that you’re soon working in a career that has a net-positive impact on the world. Remember, everything is possible; if we can dream it, then we can do it.
The Next Generation
The hopes of the future always lie in the hands of the people who will be there to shape and craft it: the children. They’re the ones who are going to inherit the messes left to them by the previous generation and the ones who might just do better than in the past.
Will they be able to overcome the problems, and create a brighter, better world? Well, it depends on how they’re raised, and whether they’re sufficiently educated and inspired enough to really make a difference. This is where you can come in.
If you have a talent for speaking with those children in their formative years, then why not consider getting involved in education? You’ll want to start out as a teacher in order to come to grips with how things are currently operating and to have a first-hand influence on the students.
But you won’t have to stay in the classroom forever, or even want to, for that matter, because very often the biggest changes come not from the classroom but from the halls of power.
If you’re able to draft policies and implement programs that inspire the next generation, then you could have a lasting impact on the children of tomorrow. Education is a large sector, of course, that runs right from kindergarten to college and beyond, so have a think about which age of student you would feel more comfortable working with and where you think you can make the biggest difference.
If you’re not sure entirely which role will be suitable for you, look at volunteering initially; it’ll allow you to test the waters before making a longer-term commitment.
Healthcare Opportunities
Of all the professions available to bright, intelligent individuals, few are as noble as healthcare. If you’re a doctor or a nurse, or social worker, then you’ll be on the front line of making sure that society is healthy and happy.
Aside from making the world a better place, there are other benefits from choosing a life that involves scrub pants, stethoscopes, and hospital wards: the demand for healthcare professionals is high. Take a look at the age of the population, and you’ll see that a large percentage are entering their twilight years.
It’s all because of the baby boom that occurred after World War II; millions of people were born, and now they’re all reaching the age where they need healthcare. As such, you should find that it’s not all that difficult to find a job, no matter where you want to work.
Of course, the healthcare industry is large, and it stretches far beyond just doctors and nurses. If you want to help improve this field, but don’t want to get mixed up with things like blood and illness, then you can make a difference in other ways. For example, you could work with children who have disabilities or work as a researcher behind the scenes, trying to find cures for the world’s illnesses.
The latter job, in particular, is particularly suited for people who are more introverted and who have the patience and diligence to work on a task… even when it’s far from guaranteed that there will be a successful result come the end.
Figuring Out Solutions
What will the world look like in the future? No one knows for sure, but we have a few ideas. With climate change on the way—and perhaps faster than we previously thought—then it’s likely that there’s going to be large parts of the United States and other countries across the globe that are underwater.
Or at the very least, they’ll be suffering from more extreme weather cycles. While it might be too late to stop climate change from having an impact on the planet, it’s not too late to figure out how we’re going to respond to this problem.
If you have a natural tendency to look at problems, even those that seem insurmountable, and ask, “How we can figure out these issues?” then you might be drawn to becoming a city planner. These professionals are going to work with city councils to find ways to make their city more efficient and to limit the impact of climate-related issues.
So what might the city of the future look like? Well, it’ll likely be run by a renewable energy source. It’ll also have more efficient ways of getting people from A to B. For example, a city planner might take a look at the main roads that run into the city, and see if there’s a better way to use that road to avoid congestion and backups.
Enter this field, and you’ll always be coming up against challenges, but your solutions will have a positive impact on people’s lives.
Emergency Services
We’ve talked about becoming a doctor, but when it comes to keeping social order and preventing disasters, then we have to look to separate professions: chiefly, the police, firefighters, and search and rescue operators.
All of these jobs, especially the police and fire brigade, stand at the forefront of social order and protection. If you think you have a good understanding of social issues and are able to build a natural rapport with people, then look at becoming a police officer.
They don’t always get the best reputation or perhaps as much respect as they should, but they provide a valuable function in society. In any case, the world needs more police officers who are eager to use their power for good; if you’re eager to make the world a better place, then you’ll be just the right kind of candidate that they need.
Then there’s the matter of fighting fires or search and rescue. While police officers need to have a lot of courage when they go out to work, the firefighters and those going off into the wild may need a little bit more. If you never shirk from dangerous circumstances, especially when there are people in danger involved, then these two professions might be the right one for you.
You’ll have to go through a lot of training and be fully committed to the role, but if you are, you’ll be a part of a team that helps people in ways that are beyond comprehension.
Entrepreneur
The future is yet to be written. We have an idea about how things might look in ten or twenty years from now, but the truth is that we don’t really know. The future is going to be written by those who take up the pen.
Take Thomas Edison, the original entrepreneur, for example. It wasn’t a given that we’d all have light bulbs in our homes, but he willed it into existence, and as such, wrote the future. We’re living in Edison’s world. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It’s not so clear. What is clear is that the future is open, and it’ll likely be created in the vision of an entrepreneur.
If you’re determined to make the world a better place, then you’ll find things much easier if you have a war chest of cash and influence behind you. If you become successful, you can then use that success to have a seat at the tables of power.
Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Steve Jobs may have “changed the world,” but he didn’t make it a better place. If you have the capacity to fix a problem, then go ahead and fix it! But if you’re one of those people who wants to leave the world in a better state than they found it, then you’ll already be aware of your duties and responsibilities.
Final Thoughts
The world faces a unique set of problems. Indeed, in the history of mankind, it’s unlikely that we’ve ever come up against such a long list of serious challenges! But while this may be cause for a doom-and-gloom mindset, there is good news too. We’re in a position to identify these challenges and do something about them. With technology and people like you on the right side, then we might just find that the future is a little bit brighter than some people predict.