Working In The Non-Profit Field

No Comments | May 15th, 2007 | Trackback

So you have volunteered want to do more – but how? One way is to seek out a career in the non-profit field. You generally have to be or get appropriately qualified, and working will certainly not be as “fun” or as commitment-free as volunteering, but it may provide one of the best means of achieving the same ends as volunteering, perhaps in a more effective way.

The non-profit field is large, and thinking of it as a uniform field can be misleading in my mind simply because there are such a variety of jobs. Also, and accordingly, not all of the jobs for non-profit organizations will have as clear or as immediate of a connection to a “do good” project as many volunteering opportunities do…but your overall impact can be much greater.

It’s probably not a surprise that you are unlikely to get rich in the non-profit field (though you shouldn’t assume you’ll be constantly broke either) – my informal assessment is that many non-profit jobs are relatively competitive – they are desirable and while they definitely require skill to do – people from a wide variety of other career and educational background may potentially be able to do them. In my mind this means experience, qualifications, and contacts are extremely important.

I’ve had an interest in the non-profit field for some time, and I’ve found that perusing job ads in this field is a good way to get a feel for what’s out there and what’s required to get it. On that note, check out a recently posted job opportunity, Project Coordinator for Nepal with Peace Brigades International. (Note that there are two on this page; the first one requires you to download information.)