If you are looking for rewards from your career that you can't deposit in the bank, a position in a non-profit legal department might be right for you. For Kimberly Simpson, newly elected general counsel of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the reward is in supporting the mission of the breast cancer foundation.

“Life is short and you shouldn't do anything that you are not passionate about or do not enjoy or that doesn't really energize you,” Simpson says. “I have found that because I am working in the non-profit sector, particularly working for the cure, I am practically springing out of bed in the morning.”

Simpson, who joins the network of breast cancer survivors and activists from another non-profit–the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas–had her share of careers before deciding to go the non-profit route. After working in law firms, marketing and advertising firms, Simpson said she found the best of all worlds in non-profit legal departments.