There are several full-time jobs that are not only dangerous, they are unpaid. Many Americans volunteer on a regular basis. They volunteer their time to help the less fortunate or to perform more dangerous work such as firefighting and emergency medical workers. While many volunteers say the gratitude and success stories of the people they help is reward enough, there can be a long more complications when volunteers get hurt on the job.

There have been headlines in the recent years where volunteer firefighters, rescue workers, and other volunteer personnel that hold critical positions have been injured or even killed. Consider what happened on September 11th after the Twin Towers collapsed. Many volunteers were lost forever during that tragic event.

It’s interesting that so many dangerous positions are on an unpaid basis and still people volunteer to be a service to their community no matter the risks posed to their own life. When volunteers are injured during their service, it can certainly cause a lot of complications in their lives.

For volunteers that have a full time job who sustain an injury doing volunteer work, it can put them out of commission and out of a paycheck during the recovery process. For the same reason that paid workers need proper training and safety lessons, so too do volunteers.

Volunteerism is on the rise in America which is good news but before you jump into a volunteer position, be sure it is something you enjoy and get properly trained to do the work to prevent unnecessary injuries and even fatalities.