As a new graduate what is the best way to get involved?

[Rohan Mehta]

I recently graduated in the states with a Bachelors of Economics and Finance. As i spent a few months looking for jobs in the development sector on the business side as opposed to the volunteer ngo side of things, i found it a difficult area to get into. Everyone was looking with someone with a lot of experience in the field as well has a greater economic background. Now I am considering studying for a MA in Economic Development. I want to get involved in the business fight for poverty not necessarily through academic, beaurocratic or charity routes to development. What would anyone here advise me to do? Is it worth going for the masters first? are there jobs i should look to take internship in, in order to gain valuable experience? what do people suggest?

thanks.

[Zahid Torres-Rahman]

Rohan,

I’ve met loads of inspiring people during my career in international development, and one thing that has struck me is that everyone has followed a very different path to get where they are: it’s more about taking great opportunities when they arise. The right Masters – especially if it is only a year – will definitely open opportunities in both the business and other worlds – helping you compete in a very competitive field and demonstrating your commitment to the issues. Have said that, and as Jeff says, there’s nothing quite as good as a good dose of experience in the real world. Some programmes will let you combine these – such as the Overseas Development Institute Fellowship Scheme, which gives practical experience on the ground to new post-grads. And though it is public sector focused – it is very well regarded in the private sector (at least in the UK). Volunteering – with something like Gambia is Good is another way to break the Catch 22 barrier that faces most people trying to break into this field: no job without experience, no experience without a job.

Good luck with it!

[ian amor]

If anyone wants to be involved..the quickest way is to mentor poor people direct.giving them what they want ..knowledge to start their own businesss..
Two emails will get you .. a student to help
free resources to train the poor how to use their intellectual
capacity to progress an idea to trading success..

My advice is us the NGO's..see www. global giving.org

regards ian amor

[Jennifer Bremer]

I think a master's is a great idea. It's quicker to get a degree than to build up experience, if you can finance it. Look for a program at a top school that includes an internship component or offers opportunities to get involved in the field. Do it full time, again, assuming you can afford it, and get involved in some type of development volunteering on campus or nearby. As someone who has read a lot of resumes, I always give a lot of weight to young professionals who show initiative and commitment through their volunteering. The next step is to get some overseas experience any way you can, even if it means going to a country and planning to spend 6 months working on a volunteer basis before being able to find a job. This is the last alternative, of course, and it would help if you have some connections in the country in question, language ability, etc. With luck, a master's will equip you to go for a more "normal" option, though. Companies are looking for development knowledge and experience, not business skills, in a CSR person, but business skills are more in demand in areas such as new market development in emerging markets.

[Rohan Mehta]

thank you for your reply Jennifer. It seems to be a fair analysis and as someone who looks at resumes it's nice to get that perspective. It always seems down to resumes. Fortunately, I am able to finance a masters degree, its partially due to this fortune that I wish to dedicate my life in this field, because its so rare. I applied and been accepted to two different courses at different universities here. One is an MA course in Globalisation and Development (at the institute of development, sussex university, UK) and the other is an Msc in Finance and Economic development (at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) they are both good development schools, one seems to be a more broad course that focuses on issues in the field of development, while the other seems to be economics-finance theory intensive with respect to development. Which do you think would be most beneficial to me in the long run? would the Msc seem to academic and focused on a resume? Thanks so much.

Rohan

[Cristiane Santos]

Hi Rohan

I was in the similary situation one year ago. What did I do? I looked for a profissional internship and now I am working with Corporate Social Responsability in a company in India. Why India? (I am from Brazil). Because I saw an opportunity to enrich my CV and also have a strong profissional and life experience in a country very diferent from Brazil.
My time here have been incredible. I believe that work oversea could be wonderful to you. If you want to know more about this, look this organization: AIESEC www.aiesec.org

Cristiane

[Nicolas Baumgartner]

Hi Rohan

Work experience is most important, even before a Master's. The rationale is that it will help you get into a MSc in Economic Development / Finance course. I started getting into the field by volunteering - which did no good to my finances then, but I'm now able to find (badly) paid work. (The question is how to finance a Masters' now though...)

Since, like me, you graduated in Economics, you could consider working in the financial sector for a while. The skills you would aquire there are very demanded - this is actually how I ended up working for a DFI.

My question to you, and to the others, is where would you study? I've computed a list with different criteria. Anyone able to tell me which ones are the best?

London School of Econ. - MSc Development Studies
Manchester -MSc Development Economics and Policy
Manchester - MSc Development Finance
Nottingham - MSc Economics and Development Economics
Oxford - MSc Economics for Development
York - MSc in Development Economics and Emerging Markets
Bath - MSc in Economics (Development)
Bristol - MSc Quantitative Development Economics
SOAS - MSc Finance and Development
Birmigham - MSc Development Economics
Sussex - MSc in Development Economics

Thanks!

[Rohan Mehta]

Hey Nicolas,

thanks so much for replying to my discussion. For better or for worse I actually ended up finally making a decision, (one that seems to go against most of the advice i got in this page) - only because the opportunity to apply to a masters course and the eagerness of my parents to pay for it arose. Also I tried applying for a few jobs in the financial sector but as you can imagine the going is tough at the moment and things have gotten very competitive.

So anyway, I applied in the spring to several universities (quite a few of the ones u mentioned above) and I finalized my offer from Soas to do the MSc Finance and Development.

I have officially started there on Monday and am quite excited about it. Other students in the course range from those who have several years experience in the field to those like me who are fresh from university. I'm not sure where this course will take me or what it will leave me with but hopefuly above all it will teach me some details about the issues in the financial aspect of development and give me an idea of where I would like to work. I will come back and let people know how this goes. In the meantime, Nicolas I'd definitely say SOAS, Sussex, Bath and Oxford offer the best courses in terms of development. I guess read the contents and see which best fits your interests. Some skim too shallow and others turn out to be too dry and technical.

thanks for your comments and wish you luck in your own choices.

[Nicolas Baumgartner]

Thanks for the answer. Do let me know how your course turns out to be - I visited SOAS this year and thought it was a great place to study. At the same time, the financier that I am trying to be felt a bit out of place...

Why did you choose SOAS over the others? Why not York, Manchester or Nottingham? Oxford seems like the best line to have on a CV (it helps getting a job, believe me) - but it's not that easy to get in. Maybe the guys who're in the industry might know better where to go!

[Nyakio Ndungu]

This is a very interesting topic as I am also in the same situation. I am lucky however in that I am working for an NGO so gaining experience whilst trying to figure out what the next step will be.

Mine is a slightly different approach as I'm taking a year out to gain some experience, and then returning to do a masters next year. LSE and SOAS would definitely be my top choices. York, Manchester and Nottingham for example do not seem to have the same reputation as the other two, maybe because their programmes are newer. I guess or probably because of where they are located. I assume that because London is an international hub, so to speak, has the advantage of more opportunities.

[Linda]

Hi Rohan,

I am Linda from Italy, I am a student and I would like to work in the field of international development.
This discussion is interesting to me because I am now in front of the very same dilemma that you had.

I want to take a master degree in development economics next year. As I already have a bachelor and Italian master degree in development studies, I want to specialise a bit more in development economics.
My choice is between SOAS and Sussex University (MSc in development economics in both schools). My professors also suggested me to apply for Oxford, but I discarded this idea for a few reasons (as I am foreign I should pass the GRE and I have no time for that, + the fact that I wish to apply for PhD in the same place in which I will take my master and being admitted at a PhD in Oxford is too difficult....).

So, I am in front of the same problem you faced: SOAS or Sussex university?
I am actually doing a PhD in Italy on the topic of rural development in India, so SOAS could be a good choice because I guess they have a lot of materials on that topic.
On one hand, Sussex seems to have a stronger reputation in the field of development. On the other hand, the famous place in Sussex is IDS, which doesn't teach development economics (my master would be in the faculty of economics).
In general, Sussex seems to be more well-known, but SOAs programme are more interesting and I guess the athmosphere is better too.

Why in the end did you chose SOAS? Is there any suggestion you can give me after the beginnng of your Master?
And for everybody: which school do you think is better? Or more valuable in terms of CV?

thanks to everybody for taking the time to read this!

Linda