How many of us are in helping professions?

Editing and publishing are my daughter's dream job

Therapist, MFT.

But my first degree and a first job were in the technical field - computer programming. It was back in my country of origin. I immigrated in the US in 1996. A few years later had a tragic loss of my sister to AIDS. It was a turning point in my life when I was re-evaluating my life choices, the time when I realized I was a humanitarian (and a bit artistic) by nature and that someone like me should have nothing to do with anything technical and mechanical. I got my MA in psych, then went through internship, licensure, private practice.

Now, I am sort of at crossroads again, feeling like I might be better giving humanitarian service through teaching or doing counseling differently from how I was trained - more effectively, more ethically and more creatively. Still exploring various options of how to be of help. But, one thing is clear to me and that is that I definitely belong to a helping profession/occupation whatever else it might be.

I think, those of us who are drawn to helping professions have a naturally heightened sensitivity (empathy) towards someone else's pain, the desire to help and the need to have a life purpose. It may or may not be necessarily connected to personal traumas. Many people have had traumatic experiences of some kind, but not all of them have the need to help themselves through helping others. I think, it takes a special natural insight to understand that we are all connected on some level and to see someone else's pain as one's own. Of course, not everyone in a helping profession has a calling for it. Some of them should definitely change occupation.

Social worker

INFP and work as a part tíme tutor, some kids have special needs

I'm hoping so! At least I have references, plus some connections.

I’m a special education teacher.

I am in a helping profession. I am a fundraiser and I help myself to other people's money.

Oh. Sorry. I meant I help myself to other peoples' money.

I am. I didn't start out in a helping position, but ended up there.

lol! i want that job!

INFJ I meant.

Early childhood educator

Yes I'm in a helping profession. And also an INFJ

I'm a therapist or soon to be - I'm LMHC license eligible. Also an INFP.

Defining a helping profession or a helper-- personally I like the term "do gooder" even though some people use it in a mean way-- is complex. This encompasses many professions where people work directly with those who are indigent or have problems that need some kind of intervention-- kids with special needs, immigrants, the homeless, victims of violence and abuse, criminal defendants, parents and children in all kinds of systems, people who have been discriminated against, and those with medical and dental problems-- including mental health issues.

I am in a helping profession by education and by practice-- I work with extremely traumatized victims of interpersonal violence. If I get at least part of the understanding of why you asked this question, the answer is that it does have something to do with what I've been through in my life and the ability to transform trauma from my personal life into helping others. It also has something to do with therapy, as one of the main reasons I see my T is for self care from the stress of hearing the awful things that have happened to the people I work with. Although it often doesn't stir up my own stuff, vicarious trauma is a real thing that I need help managing. I think the stories of trauma are often not as hard to hear as the way that institutions fail those who have experienced it, starting often with school and continuing through other sources of help and the legal system.

I’m retired/disabled now but was in a helping profession my entire career.

I’m currently a nanny but am studying to be a social worker. I begin my social work internship in 2 months and get my degree next spring! Also an INFP

I worked in Communications, Marketing, and Sales. They're not exactly "helping" professions. I have been a volunteer group leader for a bipolar disorder support group (not here). That included a bit of support.

I work as a direct-care mental health worker on a acute, locked inpatient unit for bipolar and other psychotic disorders at a free-standing psych hospital. I've been there for a little over eight years. Wasn't my plan initially. Was just looking for experience with patients/medicine for med school and psych was the easiest/cheapest to get into as compared to EMT and other tech positions. Due to various things happening in my life, I'm still here. Overall, I'm genuinely grateful for the experiences I've had and I've loved working with thousands of patients over the years. I'm just getting progressively more and more burnt out. Staff I've come to love working with keep leaving for bigger and better things and I'm still there. Plus, I've stagnated in terms of personal growth and learning. There's very little left without moving on. But it's hard.

I am a research scientist/professor in academia, which is not really considered as a helping profession. But it involves a lot of mentoring of junior scientists and other staff, which sometimes goes a bit beyond simply supervising their work. I also do a lot of service work that I am not paid for, for example peer reviewing. Privately, I do writing and consulting for various clients. What motivates me best is not the helping aspect per se but doing whatever interests me personally. I don't think I would be good for classic helping/service work if I did not have personal interest in it. I do very much enjoy when the work goes beyond my solo interest though and have broader implications and even all of my research areas (most recently mental health) have had that element, even if I am not directly involved in the application, treatments etc. I would not want a profession involving constant communication with people though as I am more an introvert than not and enjoy long hours doing research, analysis, writing on my own, in my office or at home. Like others mentioned, I do get emotional rewards from the interaction aspects of my work that I don't really seek that much in personal life. I can easily imagine that many Ts experience this, too.

Yes, I have always been in helping positions. I enjoy them.

I am a former/disabled mental health social worker. Worked in the field for ten years in Nashville, Tennessee.

Yes I am in helping profession

I work in IT in an organization working with DV and child abuse. Technically not a helping profession though we're required to have "mental health first aid" skills as I operate video conferencing equipment for vulnerable witnesses (abused children, assault survivors etc) to testify without having to face their abusers.