International Development Work
If you’ve always wanted to travel the world making a difference, then a career in international development might be for you. This guide introduces international development work as a profession and offers tools and advice to get you started in the field. You’ll learn which graduate degrees lead to jobs in development, and read firsthand accounts of aid work experience in blogs. We’ll also explore the safety issues and hardships of international development work.
Expand All Guide SectionsWhat is International Development Work?
Before diving into a career in development work, learn what it’s all about. This section ... read more »
Resources for Aid Workers
Whether you’ve recently decided to pursue international development work, or you’re an experienced aid worker looking for tools to help advance your career, you’ll find help in this section. Learn about educational programs, link to job search and networking sites, get health and safety information, and discover the countries that are in need of your specific skills.
Dulcinea's Insight
- International development work is a competitive field. To succeed, you’ll have to work just as hard and network just as vigorously as you would for any other profession. Many aid workers have graduate degrees and extensive international work and volunteer experience.
- The findingDulcinea Philanthropy and Nonprofits Web Guide helps you pursue a career in charity work, and has information on donating to charities.
Dulcinea's Picks
For educational programs …
GradSchools.com
has a database of master’s and doctoral programs in international development. Find a school in the United States or abroad. You’ll see a variety of program types that are related to development work, including MPA (Masters of Public Administration), urban and regional planning, sustainable development and economics.
For country profiles …
The U.K. Department for International Development
has country profiles of each nation that it contributes to. Learn what type of aid work is needed where, and discover where your talents might be best put to use as an aid worker.
For networking …
Aid Workers Network
was mentioned previously for its blogs. The site also serves as a forum for advice exchange between aid workers, has an e-mail newsletter for development workers to share knowledge, and offers pre-departure advice for first-time aid workers.
For health and safety …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has a page containing health information for humanitarian aid workers that includes a summary of health issues affecting international aid workers, pre-departure health advice and a suggested “expanded travel kit.” You’ll also learn how to maintain your health upon returning home.
For humanitarian news sources …
Reuters AlertNet
publishes news stories of interest for aid workers, covering humanitarian issues and global crises with breaking stories and images.
ReliefWeb
is an information source for the humanitarian community providing updates on emergency situations in countries around the world, humanitarian grant appeals and funding, as well as coverage of policy issues of interest to humanitarian organizations.
The International Crisis Group
is a nonpartisan source of analysis and news that aims to anticipate and prevent world conflicts. Browse the “key issues” that run down the right side of the page, including issues in Darfur, Iraq and Congo, to see where aid is particularly needed.
For aid worker job boards …
The Development Executive Group
offers a variety of resources to nonprofit and development organizations and individual job seekers, including job postings and daily coverage of international development projects and news.
DevNetJobs.org
posts a variety of jobs in international development and development consulting for various agencies, charities, foundations and different types of development organizations. Some of the international job postings require a paid membership in order to view but others, such as the “Instant Highlighted Jobs” (scroll down the right side of the page to find them) are free to browse.
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
