A day in this work
You work with communities on health, education, livelihoods or rights, running programmes and raising funds. Pay is modest and purpose is high.
Ways in
- BSW or any bachelor's degree
- MSW or development studies (2 years)
- Fellowships such as Gandhi Fellowship or Teach For India
After Class 10
Any stream
Entrance exams to know
- CUET-UG
- CUET-PG
- Institute tests (TISS and others)
Years, cost and pay
- Years of study
- 3 to 5
- Whole-course cost, government or aided
- under ₹2 lakh
- Whole-course cost, private
- ₹2 to 8 lakh
- Typical starting pay
- under ₹3 lakh a year
Indicative bands from the pilot dataset (0.1 (pilot), 19 September 2026). Real fees and pay vary a lot by college, city and year. Check the official sites below.
No college, coaching institute, lender or study-abroad agent pays to appear on these pages. Pathways takes no money from them.
Outlook, and how AI is changing this work
Outlook: Steady. AI changes little of the daily work.
Corporate social responsibility budgets have added professional roles to this sector.
Try this week
Volunteer for four weekends with a local organisation and keep a diary.
Check the facts yourself
These are official sites. Exam names, dates, fees and rules change every year, so confirm them there. Each link opens in a new tab.
Careers close to this one
See how well this fits you
Discovery in the app takes about eight minutes and gives each of these 52 careers a fit score from your own answers. It is free during the pilot, and nobody is asked for an email address or a phone number. Students under 18 need a parent or guardian to agree first, and children under 13 cannot join yet.