What professions are valuable in both nonprofit and private sectors?
March 16, 2016 8:00 PM   Subscribe

Careers in social services are rewarding and valuable to nonprofit organizations, but those professions typically would not translate well into the private sector. This Forbes article showed that mostly healthcare and executive jobs are financially secure for both nonprofit and private sectors.

I may go back to school and complete an accounting certificate, so I was thinking that would be one example of a career that is lucrative no matter what the field I work in. Im currently in my 2nd year serving nonprofits through the AmeriCorps State and National program. Working for organizations that concentrate on improving communities instead of increasing sales is important to me. But at the same time, I want to make sure my future career can help support me and family.
posted by Become A Silhouette to Work & Money (13 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Communications, for sure. Both non-profits and for-profits always need writers / marketing people / etc.
posted by youcancallmeal at 8:10 PM on March 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


Non-profits need business administration just like everyone else: Accounting, IT, HR. Often non-profits are small and need fewer of these, and these are also outsourceable if they're small enough, so there's a size/scale threshold.

If they own the building (e.g. Museums), they need facilities people to keep the lights and water on.

If they have a lot of low-skilled staff positions and/or volunteers (ticket-sellers and other guest services, for example), they'll need managers who can deal with the challenges: scheduling, hiring, training, drama. (They aren't the sole source of drama, but high turnover = lots of novel opportunities for drama.)

Event planners. Project managers. Graphic designers.
posted by Sunburnt at 8:57 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Bookkeeping always. AP/AR clerks, payroll, etc. It's possible to outsource or use volunteers, but all non-profits will have money that has to be accounted for.
posted by fiercekitten at 9:35 PM on March 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Accounting is definitely a good way to go. At my nonprofit we use consultants for everything from PR to IT, but we have a couple of accountants making up our finance department because you just really HAVE to.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:45 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Web Development. Everybody needs a website now days.
posted by gryftir at 10:02 PM on March 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think you need to make a distinction between financially secure and lucrative. Yes, there are careers that you could take to either a not for profit or the commercial sector, such as graphic design and make a liveable wage. But I wouldn't call it an especially lucrative career, either.
posted by Jubey at 10:24 PM on March 16, 2016


Lawyer.
posted by Capri at 10:39 PM on March 16, 2016


Was coming to say web development. Also information technology.
posted by amtho at 11:08 PM on March 16, 2016


NOT communications, and I say this as someone with a communications background. Sure, they need writers, they just won't pay for you.
posted by divabat at 2:01 AM on March 17, 2016 [6 favorites]


Procurement/contracts and business development.
posted by solotoro at 4:15 AM on March 17, 2016


Web Development. Everybody needs a website now days.

This is true, but most nonprofits I know do not have a dedicated website person on staff. You'd have to freelance if you wanted to do this for nonprofits.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:40 AM on March 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Everywhere needs a website, but nonprofits often get skilled amateurs or volunteers to do theirs for free. Unless you have a complicated interactive site with tons of content, there's no need for a small-to-medium nonprofit to have a staff web developer.

My husband is a proofreader and let me tell you what almost no one cares about anymore: proofing their content.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:55 AM on March 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've made a career in the non-profit web world. There are plenty of full time positions at the larger non-profits, especially when you add in higher education. For a while, salaries were close to market rate, but now they seem to have leveled off to be less than private sector, but more than most your coworkers. It's certainly a comfortable salary where you can have a nice home, buy organic veggies, and go out to eat now and then while still saving for retirement.
posted by advicepig at 7:23 AM on March 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


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