5 Unique Careers to Inspire Your Students
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question
everyone hears at one point in their lives. Choosing a job, much less a career,
can be a daunting task and most of us end up in a job out of necessity rather
than an affinity for that job. What if you could find a cool and unique job
that you also like?
Many have foregone the traditional careers and
forged new paths by taking on jobs and careers most people wouldn’t consider.
These can include professions like Audiologists who
asses and treat people with hearing disorders, or Hydrologists who study water quality or how water moves
through the earth’s crust, and many more unique career paths. So, let’s have
look at some other jobs that might just inspire you.
Certified
Ethical Hacker
Becoming a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
demands the same skills as a malicious hacker, however, you’ll be working with
the law to catch criminals, or expose flaws in companies’ software to make them
more secure. The demand for cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers is
at an all-time high. A report from the
Global Cyber Security Center in collaboration with the University of Oxford details how there is a shortage of 2,93 million
cybersecurity professionals. The report predicts the gap will widen to 3.5
million by 2021. A Maryville
University guide to the cybersecurity industry shows that due to the sheer demand for cybersecurity
specialists, they now command more than $6,500 per year on average, compared to
other IT workers. With average yearly salaries approximately $99,000, this
might just be the rewarding career path you’re looking for.
Intelligence
Analyst
When it comes to jobs with a certain cool
factor, intelligence analysts for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is
right up there. The CIA is the government agency responsible for collecting and
disseminating foreign intelligence. It entails working with classified
information and collecting intelligence on anything from Chinese and Russian
naval forces to the latest terror groups in the Middle East. In this regard,
there are many career paths available for qualified individuals who possess
strong communication and problem-solving skills. Some of the areas of
intelligence analysis include counterintelligence threat analyst, political
analyst and economic analyst, amongst others. The salary range varies between
$51,000 to 76,000 and up.
Nurse
Midwife
A certified nurse-midwife (CNM) provides primary
healthcare centered on women and their families, but their primary function is
to give care and counseling during pre-conception, pregnancy and postpartum.
While most people believe that midwives only deal with childbirth, Nurse Journal
explains that CNMs only spend 10% of their work time dealing with childbirth, while the rest is spent
working with patients for preventive care. Being a CNM is a tireless, yet,
rewarding job and you can expect an annual salary in the range of $70,000 to
upwards of $150,000, depending on location and institution.
Curator
If you’ve always been interested in art and
history and have a desire to educate and preserve them for future generations,
a career as a curator might pique your interest. Museum curators manage
collections of works of art and artifacts, historical or scientific items and
are responsible for the acquisition of new works of art. Apart from requiring a
passion for history and art, a curator must have a keen eye for detail, strong
communication and writing skills, and the ability to complete academic
research. Curators work in many capacities, with The Art Career
Project describing how 37% of curators work
in museums, galleries or historical sites, while the rest work in government,
education, and other institutions. You can expect an average pay of $46,000,
going to as high as $145,000.
Ecologist
Ecologists have the important role of solving
environmental problems, plan habitat management and manage environmental
restoration projects. As an ecologist, you’ll have a duty to preserve the
environment and increase people’s understanding of the relationships between
various ecosystems and all that affects them to protect them. Most importantly,
ecologists help us better understand and minimize the effects of our activities
on the planet and provide the tools and knowledge to protect it. Ecologists can
be found in diverse roles from environmental consultants for various
development projects to research at colleges and universities and advisors to
policymakers. Average salaries for ecologists vary by state and average around
$67,000. If you ever want to be an ecologist, the District of Columbia posts
the highest median salary at over $109,000.
