How to turn your passion for helping people into a job

Are you tired of showing up for your job only because you are supposed to? You go to the office not because you want to do it but because you have bills to pay.

If that sounds like you, you are not alone. A recent study reveals that 87.7% of America’s workforce cannot reach their full potential because they do not have passion for their work.

You have lost that loving feeling for your work, and now you do not know what to do about it. You can volunteer for charities to find meaning in your life, but can it put food on the table and support your kids?

On the surface level, it may not, but once you dig deep, it can be rewarding both personally and financially. In this article, we’ll explore ways you can turn your passion for helping people into a well-paying and fulfilling job.

Conduct in-depth research

Giving up a stable job for a less stable yet personally rewarding opportunity can be risky, especially if you have priorities other than yourself.

Therefore, it’s important to conduct thorough research into what it would take to launch your career in your chosen field.

You may need to identify the level of demand for your skills before you choose a field. A rule of thumb is to pick a career with a high demand or perhaps one with fewer competitors. Although the number of competitors should not be a deal-breaker, working in a niche field can be an excellent way to uncover more profit-generating opportunities.

There are many ways to help other people. You can work as a paramedic, you can share your expertise in a food bank or perhaps you can teach young kids about proper sanitization.

By conducting comprehensive research, you can make an in-depth plan of the steps you need to take to make your passion a realistic career choice.

When making a plan, interview those who have or are in a similar position to the one you are considering. Through this process, you can learn what they did to succeed and gain ideas on how to replicate their success, especially if you choose to work in a niche market.

While this might sound cliché, it is about who you know in many industries, particularly in the non-profit sector. Finding your dream job is easier if you know someone within an organization who can validate your skills and abilities.

Talk with subject experts in your desired field. Find non-profit organization events, have your business cards ready and start networking.

You may also want to find a mentor to provide you with daily guidance and support in your field of interest. This way, you can have a safe space to ask questions and learn about your chosen industry’s professional and social inner workings.

Mentors have a depth of experience to provide you with an intimate knowledge of how the business in your chosen field works and how you can take advantage of every opportunity to further your career. By following their advice, you can avoid costly mistakes that could otherwise spell the end of your career and even result in fines and reputational damage.

Networking is also crucial if your dream job is to start a charity foundation. You must establish a list of donors so that you can afford to organize projects that improve your chosen community’s overall well-being.

Moreover, you also have to set clear objectives when charting the best path to achieve your goal of helping people while also turning it into a profession.

So, you might ask, how do you do that? Although there are no hard and fast rules, an excellent start is to answer the following questions:

• How long will it take before I earn financial rewards?
• Can I do it for the rest of my life?
• What kind of training do I need to be good at this?

Getting answers to these questions will help you become more focused, reduce stress and choose a job that is suitable for your lifestyle.

Build your professional brand

Branding is often the last thing on the minds of individuals hoping to turn their passions into a career.

After all, your job is to help people and improve their lives. How does creating a professional brand help? Don’t marketing experts do branding?

When you think of brands, you usually envision logos of large companies like Apple and Samsung. While a logo is a crucial component, branding is much more than that.

Beyond logos and visuals, branding is the essence that a product or company elicits in the customer. Depending on your chosen field, branding can be crucial in standing out from your competitors.

For example, if you want to become a nurse educator, branding can help establish authority, create meaningful relationships and add value to the people you help. Workplace changes and a premium on candidate potential have altered the educational landscape.

Now more than ever, employers want candidates with the potential to grow their skills within the organization’s four walls. Even after the candidate has gained relevant experience, most managers are now interested in learning whether they have taken steps to improve their skill set. By branding yourself, you can shape the perception of your future employers and begin your journey toward achieving your goals as a nurse educator. Your personal and professional brands speak to who you are and provides your students with the peace of mind that you have the right skills and qualifications to teach them.

When you create a brand, you can emphasize your unique attributes, training and essential skills, which are all critical in the progression of your career as a nurse educator.

So, how can you create a brand as a nurse educator? Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach, here are some aspects of the process of branding as a nurse educator.

• Does your resume speak about what makes you unique as an educator? If your name appears in research or volunteer projects and publications, are they well-documented? Does it say something about your interests and skills?
• Have you published case studies and research journals related to nursing and healthcare? Have you established a body of work that resonates with you and what you are all about?
• What is your reputation like? What would potential students and employers learn about you if they looked you up online?

Answering these questions enables you to create a steady professional brand as a nurse educator. How you show up in and outside the class and how you are perceived are essential aspects of your brand.

Get the right training and education

If you intend to make your passion a profession, you must take steps to be qualified toward succeeding in your chosen path. Whether you volunteer or get a formal education, it is critical to bolster your skills and enhance your expertise once you pursue your passion as a career.

If your educational qualifications and problem-solving skills improve, opportunities within your chosen field will come to you, making you feel more secure.

How you go about getting the proper training and education will vary depending on your chosen profession and industry. What worked for your friend-turned-CEO of a charity organization may not deliver similar results for you.

For example, suppose you want to work in the healthcare industry but would prefer to stay away from a hospital. In that case, your best option might be to enroll in an online MSN nurse educator program at Spring Arbor University.

An MSN nurse education degree will prepare nurses to teach in healthcare agencies, academic institutions and within the community.

Depending on your chosen academic institution, a nurse educator program can run up to seven weeks. It will feature courses related to educational theory, curriculum design, instructional strategies and nurse educator internships. The program will also teach you how to work with the press effectively, develop grants and stand behind at-risk populations to enhance healthcare.

Graduates of the program will be eligible to take the national examination to become certified nurse educators. The National League of Nurses offers two certifications designed for nurse educators. These are the Certified Nurse Educator and the Certified Clinical Academic Nurse Educator. While these certifications are not required to practice, both provide a competitive edge for nurses.

Get your nursing educator degree today

Being a nursing educator can offer many rewards, whether personally, professionally or financially. Start reaping those rewards by enrolling in an MSN nurse educator program today.