3 Compassionate Careers For Empathetic People

This world has no shortage of stresses and worries for a lot of people, and it’s very easy to become downcast when you watch the news, read a few articles online, or open your social media feeds on a regular basis.

It’s common to joke about the reaction to your news alert notification is “Oh no, what now?”, and the truth is that sometimes humor is the only way you can react to the latest bad thing that has happened.

In truth, when bad things do happen, we have two options. We can get depressed about it, feeling like there’s nothing we can do that will change things for the better. Or, on the other hand, you can consider that everything in this world can go one of two ways – for better, or for worse. At least if you’re in a position to make things better one bit at a time, you are making sure some of those situations take one step in a positive direction instead of negative.

If you’re one of the compassionate people who want things to go a little better, then here are some careers that can work for you.

Correctional Officer

It doesn’t really matter what your views are on the people living their lives behind bars, whether you think they’re where they should be or not. The truth of the matter is that when they come out of there, it’s better if they’re in a position, mentally, to handle it. If they’re not soured on humanity, and of a mind that is likely to end up right back in there. As a correctional officer, you can present a positive face to people, encourage them to rehabilitate and invest in their own lives, and perhaps persuade them to help others once they’re on the other side of those walls.

Self-Defense Teacher

Some of the most heart-wrenching stories you’ll read include those of young women who have been targeted while walking home – sometimes late at night, sometimes in broad daylight.

In an ideal world, this would never happen. In a better world, someone would always intervene and stop it from getting serious. In an imperfect world like this, sometimes you just hope those women can be in a situation to defend themselves. If you become a self-defense instructor, you can equip those young women – and anyone else who needs help – with what they need to prevent the worst from happening. It can make all the difference.

Counselor

Everyone has their pain in life, and what we do with that pain can govern so much else. There are people who seek to repress it, either by self-medicating or simply by ignoring that there is a problem.

Others will address it, and the primary way of doing this is through counseling. As a counselor, you’re in a position to hear someone’s story, tell them that they are valid, and offer them the tools to turn their pain into something positive. Counseling is rarely easy – some of what you hear will be hard to listen to – but a capable therapist can turn a person’s life around, and it’s worth doing for that reason.