Non Profit Organizations

Non profit organizations offer a wide array of employment opportunities. The advantages they offer their employees include the satisfaction of doing important work and the benefits of being able to list an unusual, and often high-profile, employer on your resume. Many non profits are both small and flexible. They offer staff the chance to be creative, to take initiative, and to assume a great deal of responsibility at an early career stage. Many non profits are also marked by a team-oriented, 'nurturing' office environment that some people find far more satisfying than a more conventional office culture is.

The main disadvantage of working in the non profit world is low pay for long hours. That situation isn't hopeless. People can and do make good careers working for charities and advocacy groups. However, subsistence level pay, limited benefits, and hard work are facts of life at the entry level. Another disadvantage of non profit employment is that, because so many organizations are so small, there are limited opportunities for promotion. Career advancement often means changing employers, and may require moving to another city or state. Other disadvantages include the potential for job loss if an organization loses funding, and some difficulty in transferring from the non profit world to employment in the private sector.

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