Five jobs that help people

Five jobs that help people by Michael Cheary Looking for a job you really care about?Whatever industry you’re in, the most satisfying positions are the ones that represent more than just a paycheque. Working to help other people definitely fits into this category. Not only is it incredibly rewarding, it can also play to your strengths. Especially if you’re already of a compassionate and conscientious disposition.To help you find a role worth waking up for, here are five jobs that help people â€" and how to get into them:Financial AdvisorWhat they do: Financial Advisors provide key insight, information and advice on how best to manage people’s money. By assessing the continually changing conditions in the economy, they can recommend the best services to maximise income. Financial advisors can specialise in specific areas, such as investment banking, pension schemes or mortgage plans, or offer generalised services.What you need: While a degree in business management, accountancy or any other financ ial discipline is preferred, it’s possible to enter the industry without qualifications. In fact, interpersonal skills, analytics and mathematical abilities are sometimes prioritised even more highly than degrees.What you can earn: Trainee Financial Advisors can expect an entry salary of between £22,000 and £30,000, while the most experienced Wealth Managers (especially those contracted to private banks) can earn in excess of £100,000.Perfect for: People who like spending other people’s money.Our advice: You could begin your career as a Paraplanner (sort of like a Research Assistant to a Financial Advisor) or by participating in a graduate training scheme with a bank. Any position in the world of finance will serve you in a good stead if you wish to move into financial advising.How to become a Financial AdvisorView all Financial Advisor jobsHealthcare AssistantWhat they do: Healthcare Assistants (or HCAs) provide basic levels of care to injured, sick or elderly people. This c ould take place with the NHS, in a private hospital or at a nursing home, and would involve day-to-day tasks of feeding, washing, clothing and caring for patients, as well as tidying their room, making their bed and communicating with them on a daily basis.What you need: Since you’ll be in close contact with unwell individuals all of the time, you’ll need a positivity, enthusiasm, great people skills and a willingness to roll up your sleeves and pitch in with plenty of hard work. These qualities are far more important than any academic qualifications, though basic grades in English and Mathematics at school can be helpful.What you can earn: Healthcare Assistants will normally start out on a salary between £15,000 and £18,000, with the opportunity for that to rise to above £20,000 as you gain more experience.Perfect for: People who care about people.Our advice: With very little academic qualifications required, practical experience is your best bet for getting your foot in the door. Volunteering at your local hospital or care home will give you the necessary knowhow to land yourself a job.How to become a Healthcare AssistantView all Healthcare Assistant jobsPolice Community Support Officer (PCSO)What they do: PCSOs work on the frontlines of the police force, patrolling neighbourhoods and providing a visible presence on the streets. Though they do not have the power of regular Police Officers, they can help to reassure citizens in stressful situations, diffuse tension before it becomes a problem and prevent crime scenes from being tampered with.What you need: Qualifications are less important than physical fitness, a clean criminal record and the ability to deal with the daily pressures of the job. This means you’ll have to keep a level head even in the most nerve-wracking of situations, as well as being able to communicate effectively.What you can earn: PCSOs come in on a starting salary of around £18,000, rising to £23,000 with the right level of ex perience in the field.Perfect for: People who want to serve their community (and/or wear a fancy hat).Our advice: Any experience in community work â€" whether that be as simple as helping out at local town meetings or gaining experience as a Special Constable â€" will reflect favourably on your application. A full driving license might also be required.View all Community Support Officer jobsSpecial Educational Needs (SEN) TeacherWhat they do: An SEN Teacher works with young people who have learning difficulties. This can take the form of a physical disability, mental impairments, language problems, dyslexia, autism, Asperger’s Syndrome or other condition. On a day-to-day basis, their work will consist of pinpointing the individual’s unique needs and working to create an environment in which these are catered for.What you need: In England and Wales, SEN Teachers must first gain qualified teacher status (QTS) while Scottish schools require a teaching qualification (TQ). There are a number of different ways of achieving this, including getting hold of a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE), a Bachelor of Education (BoE) or taking part in the Teach First training course. A DBS check will also be required.What you can earn: Newly qualified SEN Teachers can expect to earn around £24,000, while the most experienced workers can receive as much as £37,500.Perfect for: People who believe children are the future.Our advice: Acquiring the teaching qualification is the first and most important step to a career in SEN teaching. Taking an entry level or Teaching Assistant position in a school prior to moving into SEN is a common career path, and the majority of SEN Teachers will have worked in the education sector beforehand.View all SEN Teacher jobsSpeech TherapistWhat they do: Speech Therapists handle children and adults who struggle with communication, helping them to overcome insecurities and disabilities in order to make themselves understood. This may inv olve working with sufferers of dementia, stammers, speech impediments, cleft palates and other language problems, as well as people who have eating and drinking complications.What you need: All Speech Therapists must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and complete a degree approved by the body. Aside from academia, you’ll also need superb listening skills and an ability to patiently communicate with others.What you can earn: Speech Therapists generally earn around £22,000 as a starting salary, and as much as £28,500 over time. Highly specialised Therapists can earn in excess of £40,000.Perfect for: People who prefer listening to talking.Our advice: Register with the HCPC as soon as possible and, in the meantime, seek out work experience opportunities with your local Speech Therapist practice. Experience in related fields of care work, such as nursing homes or hospitals, can also work to enhance your CV and boost your chances of getting a job.How t o become a Speech TherapistView all Speech Therapist jobsJobs in the care industryStill searching for a career to change to?  View all available jobs nowFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features What job suits me?

Life After College What Its Really All About

Life After College What It’s Really All About Universities and colleges award an average of 1 million associate’s degrees and nearly 2 million bachelor’s degrees to graduating students every year. This is an impressive statistic, but it says nothing about what happens to those 3 million graduates the morning, weeks, and months after commencement. It’s easy to assume that most graduates plunge into entry-level positions, careers, or casual tours of Southeast Asia. Others lay claim to basement apartments or hang out at home, endlessly scrolling through job postings and printing out resumes. A fair few (myself included) find themselves stepping into a world starkly different from college living. This world may be intimidating, underwhelming, or simply tough. It may be a relief. Whether you’re freshly graduated or dreaming of those college years so suddenly behind you, I have news for you: life after college is never what it seems, but this doesn’t mean it has to be a letdown. It may just be the best (and most rewarding) time of your life. It may be just what you need. Here’s what those post-college years looked like to me. Patience While employment rates for college graduates are soaring, a hefty chunk of newly grads (over 70%) find themselves navigating careers and internships entirely unrelated to their major. Still others struggle to land a job immediately after graduation, particularly a full-time position with benefits. In the wake of my college graduation, I sent out a newly minted resume and several shy cover letters to any job that remotely resembled my major (English). I signed up for alerts from Indeed and considered printing out business cards. I bought blazers and ironed pencil skirts. Weeks and eventually months were spent doing this, with little to no response from potential employers. One manager told me on the phone that he simply could not let me file legal documents in a dark, moldy basement because I was overqualified and his conscience would never forgive him. I wasn’t the only oneâ€"in the years after graduation, I spoke with several close friends, and more times than not, our conversations concerned unemployment, frustration, lack of self-worth, and anxiety. Some friends abandoned the job search and hopped on planes to New Zealand, Serbia, and Vietnam. Others couch-surfed, picked up random jobs when they could, and resorted to babysitting. I started making lattes at a local café and mopping floors. Life after college is about patience. It is about having some expectations that life cannot meet. This gritty reality sometimes never translates to patienceâ€"but I soon realized that patience was a far better state to channel than one of bitterness. Life After College Can Be What You Want It To Be In fact, while employment may be urgent for financial purposes, it is not all that awaits college graduates. Life after college does not have to be about a career. It does not have to be about marriage, kids, or general seriousness. It can if you want it to beâ€"but it doesn’t have to be. Once I realized that the only person pressuring me to launch a career and “get my life together” was myself, I was able to relax. And the moment I relaxed, I knew what I wanted: a freelance writing career, the freedom to wander, and lots and lots of vinyl records and incense. You guessed itâ€"I chased after those things, and I’m still listening to Jimi Hendrix on vinyl, wandering, and writing on the fly. Uncertainty Risk  I still get phone calls and texts from friends who tell me they have “no idea what they are doing with their lives.” Our conversations are less fraught than earlier, but they often become philosophical discussions about uncertainty and the impossible state of knowing that occurs in mid- to late-twenties. These years are, by nature, part of the decade of uncertainty. I wish someone had told me this when I began college as a bright-eyed, overeager freshman. The truth is, few universities emphasize the value of uncertain, risky wandering after commencement. I confess I prefer a clear forest path to bushwhacking. But clear forest paths rarely lead to risk. And risk always leads to self-discovery, empowerment, and knowing. There is no need for an answer right now. But there is need for bravery and attempts at new things. I think the stereotype of backpacking in Asia to find oneself is a stereotype for a reasonâ€"there is value to setting out with a few items on your back and the aim of settling into your own bones, particularly in a foreign culture. Uncertainty is evolution, even when it hurts. Evolution gets you places. Choice  College life is often all about independence and choice. You had power of some kind over your schedule, courses, activities, and grades. But undergraduates are still part of an institution with guidelines and structure. Life after college is boundless. These years are the ones that truly offer every graduate unlimited choice. These choicesâ€"unlike those that led to all-nighters or A-grade examsâ€"have the capacity to truly shape your future. Sometimes these choices are painful. I left a career and several relationships behind once I graduated. I traded passions and abandoned my will. Others do the same with expectations, comparisons, and standards. Sometimes these choices are exuberant. My choices brought me to new continents, coaxed me to start writing a novel, and opened up powerful friendships. They enabled me to make wicked latte art, too. I won’t say that you should be mindful of every choice you make. I will say that life after college is ripe with the kinds of choices that serve you. You can choose to be empowered in uncertainty. You can choose where you want to set your feet. Nostalgia  It’s okay to miss college. Those years are memorable for a reason. My nostalgia for college was sudden and intense, and it came only a few months after commencement. I longed for campus, for cafes and restaurants open late, for the fury of studying and the passion of intellectual conversations. Life felt dull and unexciting after college. I missed the immediate community of people like me. I realized, however, that what I truly missed about college was everything I thought I couldn’t now have: the sense of possibility and ease, the love of friends. But I did have these things, even if only glimmers of them. I gave myself permission to be nostalgic (and I give you permission, too). Once I did, I was able to find those aspects of “college” in post-college existence and savor them even more. Life After Collegeâ€"Your Vision I’m not here to discredit or enlighten any college graduate’s path. I support and celebrate unemployed, employed, and uncertain graduates at every step of their post-grad journey. I am here, however, to suggest that the plunge into the “real world” is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s so much more. These years are perhaps the most fluid of your life, and they have the capacity to transform, empower, and probe. They can also limit, hinder, and destroy. The more mindful and welcoming you can be of these uncertain, risky years, the better. It’s okay to get lost in a job search, but it’s not okay to make the job search more valuable than your own inner growth. So, caps off to not knowing, wandering, and missing the past. Things can only get better from hereâ€"if you let them. This guest post was authored by Kate McGunagle Kate McGunagle is a freelance writer, editor, and mindfulness blogger. Her blog (A Lighter Earth) focuses on conscious living and sustainability. A graduate of Princeton University and Boston University, she recently moved to the northwest of the U.S. to become a yoga instructor, launch her writing career, and build an off-grid tiny house in the mountains. Her work is currently featured on Thought Catalog, Wonder Forest, and LifeGoals Magazine. Instagram: @alighterearth  

Art Education Investing Pays Dividends for Cities and CEOs

Art Education Investing Pays Dividends for Cities and CEOs Finding Funds for Art Education Finding Funds for Art Education This past Thursday, I got the opportunity to sit down with Blick Art Materials  CEO Robert Buchsbaum at Philadelphia City Hall for the A+ Art   City Halls Annual Student Exhibit.   On behalf of Blick Art Materials  Mr. Buchsbaum, presented a check for $15K to be used for Philadelphia student art supplies, in the form of gift cards to be disbursed directly to art teachers. From the Mayors Office press release: The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE), in partnership with the Philadelphia School District, presented its fall exhibition A+ Art in the Art Gallery at City Hall. Each year, the OACCE partners with the Philadelphia School District’s Office of Academic Enrichment and Support to select 100 of the best art projects from its end-of-year Young Artists exhibit at the Philadelphia School District headquarters to be displayed at the A+ Art exhibit. Mr. Buchsbaum was ultimately hopeful for the state of art education, and stressed the importance   of investing in the arts to revitalize urban areas, which weve discussed here before. Buchsbaum: Investment in the arts tends to be very high-paying for society. We invest the least of any country in the OECD. But you look at areas in terms of a city that become the popular areas, they’re almost always the artsy areas. I’m not just talking about the visual arts, I’m talking about plays and music and the whole gamut of the arts broadly, and all of it has been cut, and I think that that’s sad from an economic standpoint because you’ve cut so far beyond the point where a little bit of spend can do so much good. Think of a $304 million budget gap versus a $15K check, it’s nothing but it does so much, it has so much leverage within the context of teaching art because it’s just not that expensive. I think we’ve just pushed it sadly so far down, though, where the marginal spend here would add a lot more value than the marginal spend we’re trying to make in other places in our educational system. What do you think? Should we be cutting back or investing more in the arts when budgets get cut? Tell us in the comments below.