LIKE WORKING WITH PEOPLE? IS HELPIN...

LIKE WORKING WITH PEOPLE? IS HELPING THE world more important than making money? Then a career in social services may be just what you are looking for.

"You're typically paid les if you do this kind of work, in the same manner you really need to believe in the cause," says Russ Finkelstein, the director of outreach for Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization in recently made known York City, which works around the world to create community assign places tos that will address local problems

The reward: You perform meaningful .work and dissipate your days with interesting colleagues who share your values. Teacher, social worker, law enforcement officer, nonprofit worker, politician, environmental activist--these do job-works all attract people who want to assist their communities.

do job-works in the social services should be plentiful in the coming years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Demand for adult day care and meal delivery programs will be stimulated at a growth in the number of somewhat old people in the United States. The increasing popularity of welfare-to-work programs should stimulate the ne for more piece of work training services. And the number of community-based programs and cluster residences, which house and help homeles chronically ill, and mentally ill clients, is calculate uponed to rise.

More teachers are wanted to meet shortages caused on retirements, growing numbers of close examiners and reduced class sizes. Demand is reckon uponed to lift salaries over the nearest 10 years. Some districts are paying signing bonuses to teachers of particular controls such as science or computer science.

ARE YOU A commonalty PERSON?

Some social service professionals work with family who face serious problems: inadequate housing, unemployment lack of work at jobs skills, serious illness, substance abuse, unwanted pregnancy, child or spousal abuse. You work directly with the community helping them get what they need

It can also be frustrating, emotionally taxing work. "Don't do it because you count upon people to say thank you," says April Gates, 35 who works at Children's Hospital in Washington, DC As a social worker in the oncology department, Gates deals with persons who are going through the worst crises of their lives.

"These the bulk of mankind are watching their child walk through life-threatening treatments for cancer," she says. "They're focused upon the child and the doctors, not forward you."

Even healthy, happy clients can be a handful. "Working with teenagers can be a high-maintenance task," says high sect teacher Paris DeSoto. "I have to be forward watch constantly; or they will start doing things they aren't suppos to, like sleeping, writing notes, doing homework for another class, and braiding hair."

ADVANCEMENT

Social services administrators keep to start out in direct services. institute principals, for instance, spend years in the classroom first. on the other hand advanced degrees can be a fast track into administration. Someone with a master's measure in public health could travel straight to work for the federal conduct allocating money for direct services programs. Someone with a master's class in business administration could pass by a leap to the top of a nonprofit organization, preparing assortments and handling the organization's finances.

To be a suitable administrator, you need to be able to place goals for your organization, establish policies, monitor observers or clients' progress, train and motivate staff, manage facilities, retain records and accounts, handle the community and the pres and perform many other duties, usually while working within a parcel that is way too small.--Gwendolyn Bradley

TEACHING IS THE NO. 1 CAREER CHOICE AMONG association SENIORS, ACCORDING TO A latter POLL OF MORE THAN 2000 observers BUSINESS IS NO. 2 (HARRIS INTERACTIVE AND NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL).

FIREFIGHTER

BRAD BOLEN

AGE: 32

LOCATION: Boise, ID

JOB: Helitack party supervisor, Bureau of Land Management, Lower Snake River District.

EDUCATION: No step is required, but the fire services is a portion like college, says Boron. "For each of the same height of firefighting training, there's coursework," he says. Bolen's liberal arts studies at Boise State, plus his work at jobs experience, made him a great candidate for a management position.

SALARY: The median annual salary for firefighters is $32864; for supervisors, $48339

onward THE JOB: In addition to putting not at home wildfires, the Helitack crew uses helicopters to perform search and redeem operations, facilitate evacuations, and amass data for forest rehabilitation specialists. The ship's company works on a local (the Boise National Forest and other nearby regulation lands) and national level.

"I supervise a 12-person company of eight career and four seasonal firefighters," says Bolen "The biggest part of being a supervisor is being understanding and communicating in stressful situations. Your do job-work is never the same, you in no degree know what's going to happen nearest Be prepared for anything."

STARTING OUT: "You have to unbroken a minimum of one season as a wildland firefighter before training for a Helitack party I worked seasonally through corporation and became full-time."