That UN Passport is such a lovely shade of blue
June 23, 2011 3:22 PM Subscribe
Help me transition from journalism to a development/NGO/UN career ... without a master's!
I've had a pretty successful career as a freelance journalist, with a few awards and some high-profile publications on my CV. But I'm tired of freelancing, I'd like benefits and a salary, and I want to get the hell out of the United States again. I have lived overseas and reported from various hotspots, so I come pre-jaded.
My writing chops are great for consumer journalism, and I pick up jargon/academic gobbledygook/corp speak easily. But that's not what's in my portfolio, and I don't have the experience called for in a lot of UN/NGO job postings.
I'm happy to volunteer writing some grants, etc, but need to do that from my current location. In other words, I can't move to Cambodia/Jordan/Timor Leste before I get a solid job. After employment, I'd start work with an online master's program ... but only if I have to.
Please, MeFites, point me to any resources/books/boards or personal contacts who can advise me! I really *am* a good communicator, and I think I could be of some small use to the world, while securing my own precarious future. Thanks.
throwaway email: gottagongo@gmail.com
I've had a pretty successful career as a freelance journalist, with a few awards and some high-profile publications on my CV. But I'm tired of freelancing, I'd like benefits and a salary, and I want to get the hell out of the United States again. I have lived overseas and reported from various hotspots, so I come pre-jaded.
My writing chops are great for consumer journalism, and I pick up jargon/academic gobbledygook/corp speak easily. But that's not what's in my portfolio, and I don't have the experience called for in a lot of UN/NGO job postings.
I'm happy to volunteer writing some grants, etc, but need to do that from my current location. In other words, I can't move to Cambodia/Jordan/Timor Leste before I get a solid job. After employment, I'd start work with an online master's program ... but only if I have to.
Please, MeFites, point me to any resources/books/boards or personal contacts who can advise me! I really *am* a good communicator, and I think I could be of some small use to the world, while securing my own precarious future. Thanks.
throwaway email: gottagongo@gmail.com
Many development implementers need communications types to write reports and success stories. MeMail me for more information.
posted by charmcityblues at 4:06 PM on June 23, 2011
posted by charmcityblues at 4:06 PM on June 23, 2011
Nobody - unless they know some very good connections - walks into a job at the UN. You need - if not a master's degree - real experience in NGO/govt fields + a UN language in addition to English if you want to get up there faster. It's great that you're writer, but that's not what the UN will want or care about - even for writing jobs there.
What you're talking about is going from 0-100 in no seconds, but this is a journey that could easily take years. Forget about grant-writing - the people who write grants are policy officers in one form or another - nobody except for private corporations hires people to just write grants - how would you even do that when you don't have a background in the policy and industry landscape?
Volunteer with some NGO organisations where-ever your home country is. Try to get jobs with them for Communications, if you can. You will almost certainly need to volunteer first. If they're an international organisation, so much the better. If they are in the fields of health, education, or cultural heritage, so much the better. Recognise that if you want a job at the UN:
a) This could take years.
b) It will almost certainly not end up as writing job - at least, not writing as you would currently recognise it
c) It's incredibly competitive and you will need to be the best, and that means a lot of other sacrifices, too.
d) Moving to East Timor or anywhere except perhaps New York or Geneva is not a magical solution to getting a job with the UN. They don't just see a white person in a developing country and think, "They're white, and they're here! You must know more/be better than the locals! You're hired!"
e) An online master's degree will most likely not cut it unless it's a respected degree from a very good institution. You will be competing against people with PHDs and masters from Ivy League-standard universities teaching the best courses like this in the world. Unless you have money to burn or can get a scholarship, pursuing this option is going to be an expensive gamble.
I'm sorry to harsh your buzz like this, but your question reads more like an idle pipe dream you had one afternoon after another cheque from a folded magazine bounced, not a real question from somebody with both the chops and determination to make a go of this. Being a writer is not a qualification for getting any kind of job where people happen to write. It doesn't qualify you for a whole lot, actually, and I say this as a former full-time freelance writer.
You seem to be taking it as self-evident that the UN or some other NGO will hire you because "you're a good communicator". Guess what? There's lots of good communicators in this world, and they're going to be going for these jobs, and they're gonna have knowledge, and experience - two qualities any recruiter for the UN, WHO, UNESCO, NGOs etc - hell any recruiter for any job in the world - will care about a whole lot more than anything.
Your next step is to determine how you can beat those other candidates by having more knowledge, more experience, and a better quality for both, then pursuing that. You sound like you have a long way to go, good luck.
posted by smoke at 4:07 PM on June 23, 2011
What you're talking about is going from 0-100 in no seconds, but this is a journey that could easily take years. Forget about grant-writing - the people who write grants are policy officers in one form or another - nobody except for private corporations hires people to just write grants - how would you even do that when you don't have a background in the policy and industry landscape?
Volunteer with some NGO organisations where-ever your home country is. Try to get jobs with them for Communications, if you can. You will almost certainly need to volunteer first. If they're an international organisation, so much the better. If they are in the fields of health, education, or cultural heritage, so much the better. Recognise that if you want a job at the UN:
a) This could take years.
b) It will almost certainly not end up as writing job - at least, not writing as you would currently recognise it
c) It's incredibly competitive and you will need to be the best, and that means a lot of other sacrifices, too.
d) Moving to East Timor or anywhere except perhaps New York or Geneva is not a magical solution to getting a job with the UN. They don't just see a white person in a developing country and think, "They're white, and they're here! You must know more/be better than the locals! You're hired!"
e) An online master's degree will most likely not cut it unless it's a respected degree from a very good institution. You will be competing against people with PHDs and masters from Ivy League-standard universities teaching the best courses like this in the world. Unless you have money to burn or can get a scholarship, pursuing this option is going to be an expensive gamble.
I'm sorry to harsh your buzz like this, but your question reads more like an idle pipe dream you had one afternoon after another cheque from a folded magazine bounced, not a real question from somebody with both the chops and determination to make a go of this. Being a writer is not a qualification for getting any kind of job where people happen to write. It doesn't qualify you for a whole lot, actually, and I say this as a former full-time freelance writer.
You seem to be taking it as self-evident that the UN or some other NGO will hire you because "you're a good communicator". Guess what? There's lots of good communicators in this world, and they're going to be going for these jobs, and they're gonna have knowledge, and experience - two qualities any recruiter for the UN, WHO, UNESCO, NGOs etc - hell any recruiter for any job in the world - will care about a whole lot more than anything.
Your next step is to determine how you can beat those other candidates by having more knowledge, more experience, and a better quality for both, then pursuing that. You sound like you have a long way to go, good luck.
posted by smoke at 4:07 PM on June 23, 2011
nobody except for private corporations hires people to just write grants
That's not true, not even a little bit. In fact, that's so ludicrously untrue that it's funny. Everyone hires grant writers, because grant writers bring in the cash. Most, though not all, grant writing jobs are going to be in the main offices, though, not at overseas field offices, since it is a lot more expensive to support field staff and grant writing can be done anywhere. Media officers (or whatever a particular agency calls those jobs) are often field based, however, and those jobs are routinely staffed by ex-journalists, for obvious reasons.
There have been at least two previous questions here about getting an international development job (1, 2); in the second one the asker actually followed through and as far as I know is still overseas doing that kind of work. So AskMe actually has a pretty decent track record on this subject, amazingly enough.
The point being, there is definitely a path from where you are right now to doing development work (though not necessarily to a UN job, which are very, very hard to get), but it will take hard work, some risks, and real commitment. A lot of people talk about it, but not many people find it all that great an option when they really look at it.
posted by Forktine at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2011 [4 favorites]
That's not true, not even a little bit. In fact, that's so ludicrously untrue that it's funny. Everyone hires grant writers, because grant writers bring in the cash. Most, though not all, grant writing jobs are going to be in the main offices, though, not at overseas field offices, since it is a lot more expensive to support field staff and grant writing can be done anywhere. Media officers (or whatever a particular agency calls those jobs) are often field based, however, and those jobs are routinely staffed by ex-journalists, for obvious reasons.
There have been at least two previous questions here about getting an international development job (1, 2); in the second one the asker actually followed through and as far as I know is still overseas doing that kind of work. So AskMe actually has a pretty decent track record on this subject, amazingly enough.
The point being, there is definitely a path from where you are right now to doing development work (though not necessarily to a UN job, which are very, very hard to get), but it will take hard work, some risks, and real commitment. A lot of people talk about it, but not many people find it all that great an option when they really look at it.
posted by Forktine at 4:39 PM on June 23, 2011 [4 favorites]
I'm sorry to harsh your buzz like this, but your question reads more like an idle pipe dream you had one afternoon after another cheque from a folded magazine bounced, not a real question from somebody with both the chops and determination to make a go of this.
I just don't see this level of naevity reflected in the post. The OP seems to understand that this could be a difficult career transition - that's why they're asking for advice. With all due respect, smoke, have you worked in the industry the OP is trying to enter? Because you seem remarkably determined to squash his or her quite reasonable career ambitions. It would be reassuring to know that you have the professional "chops", as you put it, to justify your vehemence.
posted by embrangled at 5:07 PM on June 23, 2011 [3 favorites]
I just don't see this level of naevity reflected in the post. The OP seems to understand that this could be a difficult career transition - that's why they're asking for advice. With all due respect, smoke, have you worked in the industry the OP is trying to enter? Because you seem remarkably determined to squash his or her quite reasonable career ambitions. It would be reassuring to know that you have the professional "chops", as you put it, to justify your vehemence.
posted by embrangled at 5:07 PM on June 23, 2011 [3 favorites]
I don't know enough about this area of the industry to comment, but Alanna Shaikh's International Development Jobs Newsletter is only $2/month, and you can send her your resume / a question, get an answer (plus crowd-sourcing!), and then unsubscribe. The most recent two newsletters were on writing, actually.
posted by quadrilaterals at 5:16 PM on June 23, 2011
posted by quadrilaterals at 5:16 PM on June 23, 2011
Posted too soon - Idealist is okay for the non-profits, but Devex is the standard job site (paid membership is great, but I only got one through my job (rather than while looking)). Reliefweb too.
UN jobs are basically impossible, but there's plenty of large and small orgs out there who would be happy to have a great writer. charmcityblues is right that success stories and reports go a long way.
posted by quadrilaterals at 5:19 PM on June 23, 2011
UN jobs are basically impossible, but there's plenty of large and small orgs out there who would be happy to have a great writer. charmcityblues is right that success stories and reports go a long way.
posted by quadrilaterals at 5:19 PM on June 23, 2011
Elizabeth Pisani writes about making this kind of transition in The Wisdom of Whores. Granted, she earned a PhD in epidemiology, but she was a Reuters journalist before that. The way she tells it, she picked up her first contract work for NGOs and UN agencies primarily on the strength of her writing.
posted by embrangled at 5:51 PM on June 23, 2011
posted by embrangled at 5:51 PM on June 23, 2011
>They don't just see a white person in a developing country and think, "They're white, and they're here!"
I missed where the OP said that he or she is white. Not all Americans are.
No NGO experience to share, but when living overseas I found out about a lot of jobs on the ground because I was a: drinking with the right people b: educated c: known to be at least semi-competent and mature and d: interested in staying and working in a developing country.
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 5:51 PM on June 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
I missed where the OP said that he or she is white. Not all Americans are.
No NGO experience to share, but when living overseas I found out about a lot of jobs on the ground because I was a: drinking with the right people b: educated c: known to be at least semi-competent and mature and d: interested in staying and working in a developing country.
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 5:51 PM on June 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
With all due respect, smoke, have you worked in the industry the OP is trying to enter?
I have, though I have not worked for UN agencies. Some of my NGO employers were contracted to the UN, however.
posted by smoke at 6:07 PM on June 23, 2011
I have, though I have not worked for UN agencies. Some of my NGO employers were contracted to the UN, however.
posted by smoke at 6:07 PM on June 23, 2011
Yeah ... I have an ex in this field ... and basically smoke is right. There are 100 people just like you trying for the same thing. One of them might make it, might ... and that is probably the person who speaks, reads, and writes French!
posted by jannw at 1:02 AM on June 24, 2011
posted by jannw at 1:02 AM on June 24, 2011
Mod note: From the OP:
Thanks for all of the information, even smoke's. I have no illusions about waltzing into the UN, and realize this will be a difficult transition. I'm not interested in a master's from Joe Bob U but rather was thinking along the lines of an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of London, or similar.posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:04 PM on June 24, 2011
When I was reporting from the Middle East I was approached for NGO jobs pretty regularly. Now I need to reactivate that mojo long-distance. Fortunately, my French is fluent.
Alanna Shaikh's newsletter has already been a big help, thanks for it and the other recommendations. Please keep them coming!
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mrs. sock at 3:59 PM on June 23, 2011