Career changer to International Development

[saranyc234]

Hello - I am very new to this forum but have been reading posts regarding MPP and ID programs. I am interested in making a career change to the Intl Dev world and looking to apply to programs for Fall 2017. I have been in finance for 5 years (major banks, front office client facing positions) and went to a top 15 school for undergrad (according to USNR) with a 3.5 GPA as an economics major. I do not have any specific experience that would be relevant to MPP besides extensive travel. How do MPP/ID programs view career changers? Is it impossible to get into a reputable program without your standard MPP experience (Peace corps, aid work, etc)? I am considering going abroad to volunteer at a social enterprise in Mid-October in order to display interest in the field, but not sure how much weight this will hold since applications will be due around January.  Any advice would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Nicole 

[went_away]

You'll be fine. Get in to as good a school as you can with as big a scholarship as possible.  You also need to do a better job of clarifying exactly what it is you want to do and the type of sector you want to work in; international development can encompass government, quasi-NGO, NGOs, government contractors, multilateral organizations, and major banks. 

With your strong quant/finance background background I would suggest you look at the IDB, IMF, and World Bank. SAIS (or SIPA) would probably be the best fit for those institutions and for your background. 

If you lack international experience and have no foreign language, you'll probably want to start studying up and also try to do some client or consulting work that has some kind of international bent. 

Finally, I'm not sure why you only mention the MPP. Any number of degrees could be helpful for getting into international development work, but the most common would be a master's in economics or international affairs.

Edited September 21, 2016 by went_away

[saranyc234]

Thank you - appreciate the feedback. I am looking at programs in addition to MPP, I just mentioned that one as reference. Is it looked down upon to plan on going into private sector work rather than public? I am specifically interested in social enterprise and microfinance. 

Do you think it would beneficial to take a position at a social enterprise for a few months prior to application deadlines? Or do you think this will not have an impact on admission?

[went_away]

I really don't know regarding trying to find a relevant position or internship before entering your grad degree. If you can then sure go for it (though I'd be a little doubtful of your chances of success, and if you can be successful in finding such a position it raises the question of why you need the master's degree at all). If you have a real, legit job in finance I would counsel you to definitely NOT quit your day job until you start your master's program and try to expand via doing volunteer work on nights/weekends and/or trying to take on some kind of international project at your job. 

You sound a little hazy on the details of social enterprise and micro finance, and that will show in applications. I'd suggest reading up a bit and heavily stressing your strong points, which is your quant skills, finance, and private sector work. No, nobody will 'look down on' that experience; to the contrary, it could make you a hot commodity in the NGO/social enterprise world - you'll just have to start to learn that world better, which means aggressively competing for entry-level internships once you're into your grad program.

If social enterprise is what you want to do, you should look at Fletcher's Master's in International Business; it's pretty much tailor-made for that kind of work; also, Fletcher is probably the strongest school for aspiring NGO types. I am guessing Syracuse might be another program you might want to look at and probably SIPA/SAIS as well with a finance or international business or NGO/social enterprise concentration. 

Edited September 22, 2016 by went_away