3 Careers to Save the World

Published: Apr 27, 2016

Although you might not have super-human strength, the ability to read minds, or lightning speed, you do have the capability to make significant changes for the betterment of both the human population and the world in general. To that end, while professionals in the below careers don’t wear capes or have impressive superhero names, they’re often responsible for the improvement of thousands of lives. And so, if you’re looking to save the world, you’ll want to give these three careers a look.

1. Green Technology

It’s clear that, with a changing climate, growing world population, and limited resources available to sustain everyone, something needs to change. Many governments around the world are focusing on lowering their carbon footprints by boosting the amount of green energy they’re producing. As a result, careers in green technology are some of the fastest growing in the world.

How does green technology save the world? Green technology is a means of saving the world through its ability to help provide an alternative source of energy to meet the needs of a growing, energy hungry population. Furthermore, green technology helps to reduce our dependency upon carbon-based energy sources, which have been linked to negative health and environmental side effects. Through the use of smart grids it’s possible to integrate varied sources of energy, save billions of government dollars, and provide real-time energy use to customers.

2. Disaster Preparation and Management

Natural disasters often have huge effects on the communities they occur within. For instance when Boston was buried in snow in the winter of 2015, the city’s economy nearly came to a standstill and thousands of people were left without power. Although we can often predict the coming of a natural disaster, there is little we can really do to stop it. This is where careers in disaster preparation and management come in.

How does disaster preparation and management save the world? Disaster management specialists are the people that are in charge of developing plans for the worst case scenario. Often times they’re created to ensure that the most people have the greatest chance for survival if a disaster happens in a given area. Furthermore, they work alongside local governments, police stations, schools, and hospitals to help make sure that all people are accounted for and get through a disaster safely.

3. Pathology and Virology

As small as they are, diseases and viral infections have a profound impact on our health. Numerous outbreaks such as Ebola or Zika virus are little understood and have few, if any, treatments available to those that contract them. Highly contagious diseases offer a unique threat in today’s globalized economy where a localized outbreak can easily spread and become a worldwide phenomenon.

How do pathologists and virologists save the world? Pathologists, those that study diseases, and virologists, those that study viruses, have a major role in identifying and treating these outbreaks when they occur. Often times, these healthcare professionals work to determine if certain individuals are carrying diseases and what the steps for treatment should be if they are. Work in either of these professions is responsible for many of the medical advancements that have been made over the last century—which has saved millions of lives.

Brittni Brown is a recent graduate of The College of Idaho; she currently works for a local marketing company. In her free time she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, biking, and camping.

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