A master's could help you to get ahead in international development

Studying a master's and doing an internship could help you to find meaningful employment in international development

When Libby Powell graduated with a degree in English and philosophy she hadn't a clue what she wanted to do. At university, she had a political awakening, becoming interested in the Palestinian cause. So when she left, it made sense to secure a part-time job at Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

MAP is a small charity that seeks to address the humanitarian needs of Palestinians. "I realised I had no training in this world," says Powell, 30. "I didn't understand the language of development but I was very interested in peace-building."

That's why she signed up for a master's at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) in dispute and conflict resolution. She learnt about the world's hotspots, past and present – Rwanda, Argentina, Gaza – and drank in the message that peace and development go hand in hand.

"It was a brilliant course and really hard," she says. "My brain hurt in a way that my BA had never tested me and Soas is an amazing place to be a student."

Suddenly she was an expert on the history of Gaza and the law surrounding conflict, which helped her to gain promotion from events to fundraising assistant and finally to programme co-ordinator. She was immediately able to contribute much more to MAP's work.

Afterwards she branched out on her own, becoming a successful freelance journalist and setting up and running an NGO, Radar, a communications agency for the unheard.

According to Dr Michael Jennings, who chairs the centre of African studies at Soas, most master's students are hoping to go into international development. Some, like Powell, have a particular interest. Others want to work in the field but don't know exactly what they want to do.

Soas organises internships for master's students, both paid and unpaid, through links it has with NGOs. This is crucial, says Jennings. "The master's by itself is not sufficient. International development is one of the sectors that everyone says they want to be involved in. The employers are spoilt for choice. If you have a master's together with experience, that opens doors."

Tanya O'Carroll, 26, who works as a technology and human rights project officer at Amnesty International, thinks that her MA in human rights from Columbia University in New York helped for exactly this reason. It enabled her to secure a crucial internship, which, in turn, led to Amnesty.

Like Powell, Emma Prest, 29, had a clear idea of the niche she wanted to enter. After internships at Amnesty and the Campaign for Freedom of Information, she resolved to specialise in open government.

She found a master's in public policy at Central European University in Budapest that fitted the bill, connecting her with NGOs around Europe. Half way through the MA she was sent as a rapporteur to a conference in Belgrade and met Tactical Technology Collective where she now works.

"I got a lot out of the master's because I knew what I wanted to do," she says. "It enabled me to get my head around a lot of ideas and discover the movers in the field."

(Source: TheGuardian)