Job Opportunities

Over the last five decades, there has been exponential growth in the number of social movement organizations, a significant growth in memberships and budgets, and a corresponding growth in the number of paid advocacy positions available. (See our list of the eight kinds of activist organizations where advocates and organizers can do good work.)

Most of these jobs are also very satisfying. As the book Why Not Work For A Change: An Introduction to Careers in Social Change explains:

First, you work for what you believe in. Advocates have an opportunity to contribute to making their neighborhood or the world a better place. They attack many urgent social problems head-on. Second, most public interest advocates are awarded a great deal of responsibility early in their careers. Third, there is a sense of community and commitment within public interest organizations that comes from working together as social activists. Whether it's playing for the office softball team or just sharing a brown bag lunch with colleagues, you're likely to find philosophically and intellectually compatible people.

These jobs are also paid positions with salaries commensurate with social workers, environmental educators, and librarians. According to Harley Jeben's, the author of 100 Jobs in Social Change, most advocates and organizers can also expect to make “from $19,000 to $50,000.” Some entry level advocacy workers make a little less, and more than a few advocates make significantly more. A survey of advocacy jobs listed in Environmental Opportunities over a six-month period in 2000 confirmed this estimate. The lowest starting salary offered was $18,000 and the highest was $80,000. The average starting salary was $33,500. It all depends on your position, experience, education, locality, and the type of organization you work for. (Check out some of our links to activist job hunting resources.)

As a graduate of this program, you will be in significant demand, as well as equipped to start new organizations. According to the national Environmental Careers Organization, environmental organizations today are increasingly looking for well-trained staff members who have strong “leadership skills”; experience in coalition-building and forming “effective alliances and collaborations”; the ability to foster “an environmental movement that appeals to all Americans, regardless of class, race, and ethnicity”; and the political vision to return to the grassroots “with the understanding that a concerned, involved, informed, and politically savvy citizenry is essential for environmental success.”

Types of Organizations Where You Can Do Good Work
Finding Activist Jobs and Practica

Last Updated: 12/23/09