Many students are accepting jobs in nonprofit and public service businesses instead of corporate jobs upon graduation, according to an analysis done by The New York Times.

Nonprofit jobs have become popular because of the rarity of corporate jobs in recent years, the greater ability to find a nonprofit job that wants people of varying majors and the fact that a nonprofit job can offer more than just money to the people in the organization.

“These jobs can provide a great career path and career growth,” said Melissa Medlin, director of Career Planning and Development. “It also creates a great deal of personal satisfaction for some graduates.”

According to an analysis of data from the United States Census Bureau done by the New York Times, the percentage of students working for nonprofit companies rose by 11 percent in 2009.

A nonprofit organization is considered to be any organization that uses its surplus funds to further goals instead of sending those funds to owners or stockholders, and includes companies like Red Cross, the American Heart Association, Teach for America, AmeriCorps and United Way, many of which hire in the Shoals area.

When students hear the word nonprofit, the first idea that they think of doesn’t necessarily mean great financial success, according to Medlin.

“They think non-profit means they aren’t going to make money,” Medlin said.

“There’s that presumption out there, that stereotype, but it’s going to vary with the entity and geographically.”

The truth, according to Medlin, is that many larger organizations, like the American Red Cross and American Cancer Society, offer positions that pay very good salaries.

According to online salary calculator Payscale.com, executive assistants earn a salary of $49,000 at American Red Cross and $44,491 at the American Cancer Society, compared to the $46,218 salary that the average executive assistant in the United States earns.

Students shouldn’t get the idea that nonprofit jobs are a golden ticket to luxury, because many of the smaller nonprofit organizations require their workers to work in unusual conditions.

“A lot of nonprofit jobs are a one-person organization,” said Beth Garfrerick, assistant professor of communications. “In that job, you wear all the hats.”

Though some nonprofits jobs may come with more responsibilities and less initial pay than corporate jobs, nonprofit jobs are sometimes easier to find even if a student has little experience.

“Nonprofits are going to be more open to interns than corporations in some cases,” Garfrerick said.

Bethany Oliver, a UNA alumna who is currently working on a Master’s degree in nonprofit leadership at Belmont University, believes that many people don’t understand what nonprofit organizations are about.

“Whenever you tell someone you want to work in nonprofit, they say ‘there’s not much money in nonprofit,'” Oliver said.

For Oliver, money is not as much a concern as what is actually achieved by the nonprofit organizations.

“There’s no use in driving yourself miserable when you can do something you like,” Oliver said.

“If somebody has the heart and passion for it, don’t get discouraged and follow what you want to do,” Oliver said.