How long does it take to become a Volunteer?

It takes one year or less to become a volunteer. That is the time it takes to learn specific volunteer skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 4 to 6 years years to become a volunteer.

How hard is it to become a volunteer firefighter?

It is fairly easy to become a volunteer firefighter. There are no specific requirements to become a volunteer firefighter, as it varies location by location. Typically, you can contact your local fire department to get more information on the necessary qualifications.

What are types of volunteer work?

Types of volunteer work include environmental, animal, and social. Here are some details on each of these types of volunteer work: Environmental

How To Become A Volunteer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a volunteer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There are volunteers for almost every passion. This means you have plenty of opportunities to volunteer, if that's what your heart desires. Volunteer work is a great way to earn experience while doing great things for people who need it most.

Being a volunteer is something that is done on your own time. As consideration for your generosity, you probably will get to choose when you volunteer and for how long. A lot of volunteer opportunities will even turn into a full-time job, so make sure you're getting to know the people who work there.

Volunteering can take a lot of time because the need for volunteers is never-ending. Most volunteers receive training when they show up instead of earning formal training or education. As long as you're ready to help, many organizations will open their doors to you.

ScoreVolunteerUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $31,227

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.9

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.19%

Asian 7.33%

Black or African American 13.21%

Hispanic or Latino 19.53%

Unknown 5.20%

White 52.54%

Gender

female 64.04%

male 35.96%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.1

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a volunteer

Explore volunteer education requirements

Most common volunteer degrees

Bachelor's

60.9 %

Associate

14.5 %

High School Diploma

10.7 %

Start to develop specific volunteer skills

Skills	Percentages
Child Care	12.05%
Patient Charts	9.90%
Patient Care	9.55%
Front Desk	9.39%
Community Outreach	9.22%

Complete relevant volunteer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New volunteers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a volunteer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real volunteer resumes.

Research volunteer duties and responsibilities

Develop and manage web presence, including Facebook account and other social media business accounts!
Train staff members on managing contacts, scheduling programs, and running analytic reports with the Salesforce program.
Lead team-building exercises and facilitate group discussions on leadership topics.
Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.

Prepare your volunteer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your volunteer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a volunteer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Volunteer Resume templates

Build a professional Volunteer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Volunteer resume.

Apply for volunteer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a volunteer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Volunteer Job

Regina Wright

Volunteer, UNC Hospital

My name is Regina. I have been a volunteer in two main areas . The first was at UNC Main Hospital in Chapel Hill,NC working in the Pastoral Care section. I also helped with the UNC Children's Hospital Telathon. I was a weekly volunteer. Finally my health made me have to pivot and change where I volunteered. I moved to Johnston County and worked at Cleveland High School as their A.V.I.D tutor for 5 years. Then I moved over to Westview Elementary school as a weekly volunteer with their EC Resouce section.
I got into volunteering after recieving a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia,Being Hear of Hearing,Chronic Pain as well as having Eposodic Mieneres . Despite having all of these limitations and challenges I knew that God had a plan for how I could still be useful . I still enjoy volunteering and hope to continue as long as I am able....God willing.

How do volunteers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Volunteer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2023

Pros

I really enjoy working with professional teacher's, and learning from them, as well as helping the students in each classroom that I have worked in.

Cons

There is nothing that I disliked about my job as a volunteer teacher assistant.