I was getting a cup of coffee the other day from the little cafe in the building I work in, and the two employees were talking about their career aspirations outside of the field of pouring coffee.  The one guy was saying how he wanted to get into a non-profit company and work there.  Interestingly, I soon realized that it had nothing to do with one particular area or cause or industry, but rather, just the idea of working for a non-profit.

I walked away thinking about it and wondering why somebody would want to work for a non-profit just because it’s non-profit.  I assumed that most people were working for the non-profit because of the underlying cause or field that the non-profit was participating in; i.e. some Haiti relief agency or something.  I assumed wrong I guess.  There are people who strive for a career in a non-profit just because it’s not for-profit.  Maybe these people typically work in coffee shops.

If you want to work for a non-profit because it is non-profit, does that mean you are anti-profit?  I can probably deduce a great deal about such a person from the brief comments that I overheard (which I won’t get into).  The funny thing was that the friend of this anti-profit crusader was telling him “yeah, but it’s pretty hard to make any money in a non-profit.”  So apparently, the person loves non-profits but isn’t sure about it because he can’t make any money being a non-profit guy.

Is it safe to assume that this guy expects others to pay for his health care?  Just a thought…