**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Anica Oaks

Education is something that can make a difference not only in your life, but also the lives of people in your community. It can facilitate everything from solving problems like water delivery to ensuring people who can’t take care of themselves are cared for.

Let’s explore four degrees that can help you make a big difference in your community. This will better help you determine what you should learn if you want to give back to the people around you.

1. Social Work

There are situations where people are unable to care for themselves. Children and the elderly tend to make the majority of these cases, but there are situations where adults may need help acquiring jobs or housing.

A degree in social work can help you give back to your community. You can help people directly, which in turn allows you to see the results of your work.

2. Civil Engineering

Utilities and transportation represent necessities that people require. Clean water is one of the most important necessities.

What most people fail to realize is that it takes an incredible amount of work to move the 44 million gallons of water people in the United States use each day.

Infrastructure for electricity, gas, buildings, roads and so on require a similar amount of work. That’s why civil engineering is one of the best ways to give back to your local community.

If you are curious, mathematical, and inventive, an online master’s degree in civil engineering can provide you with the avenue to make a real difference in your society. Whether you passion lies with finding more economical and efficient solutions, or in seeing your vision through from conception to creation, you can make a difference with civil engineering.

3. Finance

Often overlooked is the study of finance, which includes how it can solve problems for everyone from the individual citizen to business owners.

Consider how this degree gives back to the individual within your community: You can help single mothers, families and other parties with planning their finances. You may even be essential in ensuring that a child can pay for college.

Similar applications can be found within the realm of local businesses. You may be essential in helping “Mom and Pop” businesses plan their finances, limit their losses, and continue to provide reliable services to their customers.

4. Law

The last example of a degree that can give back to your community is one that deal with law. How it gives back depends upon the type of law that you practice or the role you choose to perform when it comes to dealing with the law.

You can give back with a law degree by helping with divorces, aiding in custody battles, representing the rights of unprivileged individuals, resolving minor legal disputes, and helping people change the local laws to better align with the interests of your community.

Making a Difference with a Degree

Educations allow you to make an incredible difference inside of your community. They enable you to help people in ways that they may be unable to acquire, or by providing services at a higher quality.

That means if you want to give back to your community, then you should consider investing in yourself for a higher education.

___

Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she’s used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here.