BEST JOBS IN AMERICA Money/PayScale.com's list of great careers

Best jobs for saving the world

The pay may be low (and the stress might be high), but in these jobs, you can feel confident you're helping others. For many, that's a priceless reason to switch.

1 of 20

1. Public School Teacher

Median pay: $50,400
Top pay: $77,500
10-year job growth: 13%
Total jobs: 2,640,000

The job: Becoming a teacher is one of the surest ways to have a positive impact on a young person's life. Despite cuts to state and local government budgets, demand for K–12 teachers in special education, science and math is strong. Same goes for bilingual teachers. Plus, a large number of educators are expected to retire in the next 10 years.

How to switch: An alternative certification program can speed up the process, letting you skip an undergraduate degree in education. Get details at teach.gov.

Quality of life ratings:

Personal satisfaction	Benefit to society	Low stress	Flexibility
B	A	D	C

By Donna Rosato and Grace Wong

Subscribe to Money Magazine

Do Public School Teachers have great jobs, or what?

From the November 2011 issue

Notes: All pay data from PayScale.com. Median pay is for an experienced worker (at least two to seven years in the field). Top pay represents the 90th percentile. Job growth is estimated for 2008-18. Total current employment level is estimated number of people working in each specific job.

Sources: PayScale.com, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and MONEY research

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How we picked the Best Jobs

Using Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts for 7,000 titles, MONEY and compensation experts PayScale.com identified jobs requiring a bachelor's degree that have strong growth prospects, and eliminated any with fewer than 10,000 positions nationwide, plus those requiring advanced degrees that take more than three years. More

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BEST JOBS IN AMERICA Money/PayScale.com's list of great careers

Best jobs for saving the world

The pay may be low (and the stress might be high), but in these jobs, you can feel confident you're helping others. For many, that's a priceless reason to switch.