There’s a sad misconception (well, a number of them actually) about the millennial generation. Venture onto any social platform and you’ll find a flood of accusations that we’re all self-absorbed, self-involved, selfish, lazy narcissists who struggle to keep their respiratory systems working if they don’t get to take a selfie break every 8 minutes.

Which is… unfair and untrue. Do a little digging online and you can find plenty of evidence to the contrary in as long as it takes to say “OK Boomer”. Millennials tend to be compassionate and selfless in their consumer habits and career aspirations. And while we may like to think outside of the box (one of the reasons we’re naturally suited to entrepreneurship) we are far from work shy. 

In short, we like to buy sustainably, we like to work ethically and many of us share a genuine desire to make the world a better place. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best careers for ambitious young people who want to make the world a better place for a living… 

Guidance counselor

You’ll notice that jobs traditionally recommended for empaths like teaching and nursing are not on this list. This is partly because they’re a no-brainer and partly because we want to look at careers that appeal to the desired workplace attributes of most millennials like flexible working hours, variety and freedom. 

With that in mind, a guidance counselor is a great option for those who want to work with kids but assume more of a pastoral role than a teacher. You get to help kids with behavioral or disciplinary problems, work through issues and difficulties with them and help them to feel more engaged in their academic lives.

Life coach

In an era where many among us feel rootless, unfulfilled and perpetually exhausted, there’s a lot of scope for life coaches to help them to achieve their personal and career goals. Borrowing elements of psychology careers guidance and lifestyle assessment, you get to help people to identify the barriers to their personal growth and find actionable ways to help them overcome these issues. 

It’s a highly flexible, infinitely rewarding and, once you have established yourself, potentially lucrative way to make a living by helping people to transform their lives. 

Massage therapist

Many of us are walking around with muscular knots and misplaced vertebrae without even being aware of them until we get a very painful report that something has gone very wrong. There are all kinds of massage therapy schools, you can find some on CareersWiki which can teach you how to fix issues in the human body through palpation before they get a whole lot worse for the client. Massage therapists have the power to ease pain, increase mobility and help clients lead their best lives. 

Entrepreneurship

Finally, we’ve talked a lot about entrepreneurship on this blog, and as discussed earlier, it’s a natural instinct to go into business for yourself in a culture of corporate wage suppression and stagnating skills.  

Is it any wonder why so many millennials have grown frustrated with the conventional career path and chosen entrepreneurship instead? Running your own business doesn’t just allow you to succeed or fail on your own terms and prevent your skills and talents from wasting away in a corporate job, it also enables you to be the change that you want to see in the world. 

You can lead the charge of more ethical, more sustainable businesses that actually pay their corporation tax. If you want to give something to the world, there are few better ways to do this than by showing the world that we can (and should) aspire to a better form of capitalism.