Many students tell us they want a career where they feel like they’re making a difference, helping to make the world a better place, giving something back to society.  Working in the public sector for government agencies or nonprofit organizations can give you this sense of personal fulfillment.  This doesn’t mean that you have to work in an area that provides direct service to clients.  Opportunities exist for as many kinds of roles and responsibilities as in the private sector–everything from artists, graphic designers and curators to engineers, doctors, psychiatrists, and technicians. 

Learn more about working for a nonprofit or government agency in the Career Passport format here, or follow the links below to other great resources on the Web.

For more on government jobs, use the USAJOBS Career Interests Center.

• Follow the "Career Interest Guide" link to locate and complete the "Interest Guide Questionnaire."  This will give you results that show you which interest areas most suit you.  By clicking the name of each interest area, you can explore related occupations.

• Follow the "Job Interest Matching" link to explore specific job tasks of interest within an occupational group.  After you’ve selected the job duties/tasks that interest you, you’ll be provided with a list of occupations that match your interests and you can explore these for more information.

• If you’re not interested in federal work, or you’d like to know about the private sector equivalent to an occupation you’re interested in, use the "Match Federal Jobs to Private Sector Jobs" option to find alternate job titles for your occupations of interest.

Another great resource for exploring government careers is the Partnership for Public Service.

• Find the top reasons to consider a federal career, how to search for jobs using USAJOBS, interest-specific career guides, internship tips, agency profiles, public service profiles, student opportunities in the federal government and more!

For more on working in a nonprofit, check out Action Without Borders!

• This site features news, current events, and resources for nonprofits worldwide.  The Career Center resources (including salary surveys, resource guides, info on starting a nonprofit job search and more) are invaluable.  Also, even though nonprofits don’t often post job opportunities very widely, this site is a great place to find thousands of opportunities for full-time, internship and volunteer positions on any given day.  Search by geographic region, area of interest, job category, language needed and more to find the kind of opportunities out there that might be right for you someday or even now!