The best careers are the ones that can balance giving you a good salary while making a positive difference in others, and perhaps, this career might be a job that is constantly making a tangible impact in shaping and raising our next generation.
The choices are endless, regardless of your degree, qualifications, or background. You may, for example, be looking to become a pediatric nurse practitioner as a way to be an active supporter in children's health from infancy through adolescence. If you love working with kids and want to make a direct impact on the future generations, then look no further than the following guide on child-focused jobs and pathways, which can serve as a starting point for your journey towards noble goals that are essential to our society.
Why Work to Shape the Next Generation
Working with children can be an extremely rewarding and powerful endeavour. You work to shape the next generation not only to guide and educate youth, but also to mold a better future for society. You bear the responsibility of modelling what it precisely means to be responsible, innovative, and compassionate.
This career investment precisely addresses key challenges facing society at the moment while creating a foundation for growth that is positive and sustainable. Ultimately, you care about helping young people overcome challenges and reach their full potential. Let's look at some jobs you might consider to turn your pathway into reality.
Social or Community Work
It is expected that social work positions will grow at a rate of 7% or faster than the average to 2033, indicating high demand for the role. The role can specialize in working with children, young people, and adults.
Of course, however, social and community work still encompasses an extremely broad range of positions, ranging from youth justice work, child and adolescent welfare, career guidance and educational support, mental health and emotional support, etc. These are potential pathways open to you within social work that you could consider, and they all have a common characteristic of actively addressing the unique challenges faced by today's youth, along with supporting them to become healthy, responsible, and engaged citizens.
Education and Teaching
Teachers are arguably one of or if not the most important, members of our society. Besides parents, they are the second group of people who have the primordial duty of raising and teaching an entire generation for the future. Teaching is an especially noble profession, as you are tasked not just to enlighten children and young people with the knowledge and treasures that hold civilization as we know it, but also to fully nurture and develop the potential and capacities they have, to make them become the best person they can be.
As a teacher, you shape the lives of not just children but also parents, families, communities, and society as a whole. Of course, besides teaching, you can also work in other positions in the education field, such as counselling, curriculum development, librarian, psychology, and consulting, which all still have decisive impacts on the trajectories of youth learning, growth, and development.
Healthcare (Pediatrics)
Pediatricians have an important place in modern healthcare as the role requires them to specialize in caring for and ensuring the health of newborns, babies, kids, and adolescents. Pediatrics takes a central role in maintaining and promoting the health, development, and well-being of all children and youth, especially when they have unique needs.
You will serve as a consistent guide both to children and parents, providing all the necessary support throughout the child's growth. In addition to this, as a pediatrician, you are on the front lines in meeting challenges such as autism, obesity, behavioural disorders, emotional issues, and an array of other public health concerns affecting adolescents today. In a world where inaccurate information is everywhere, pediatriarians have never been more important, especially with the fact that this concerns the fundamental health and well-being of our youth.
Speech and Language Pathology
Approximately 1 in 14 or 7.2% of American children aged 3-17 have a disorder related to voice, speech, or language. While being a speech and language therapist is certainly not the least challenging of jobs, the opportunity to make a difference that counts in the lives of children with speech and language disorders, which can include a variety of articulation, cognitive-communication, or expressive disorders, makes this position a rewarding and valued role.
Besides making impactful strategies, it is also an occupation that requires a mindset of continuous learning, especially considering the constant scientific and technological breakthroughs, which enhance our understanding of speech and language disorders. Children and young people with speech and language disorders are more likely to experience difficulties in their mental health, and this career works towards changing that.
Care Work
A care worker works with children and young people of all ages who are living with disabilities. These can include a variety of settings, including hospitals or even the homes of children. A high degree of compassion and responsibility is needed to provide physical care, emotional support, and general assistance to children with a variety of needs.
It is a high-demand job, but when considering this with the reality that many special needs children severely lack support, the positive, impactful differences you can make for them can become ever more rewarding. The goal of care work with children with disability or specialized needs is to ensure that they can feel valued and lead happy, independent, and fulfilled lives during adulthood.
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