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Development work encompasses everything from advocacy to social justice, project management, IT, consulting, research, and more. At its core, development work is a profession dedicated to addressing the challenges of today's world at both the local and regional levels through coordinated efforts across the globe. Most professions in this field deal with overcoming social problems such as poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, immigration, and loss of natural resources.
As one can imagine, there are several ways to contribute to development work, with different lenses - some political, some regional, some personal. Most jobs in the field require professional competence along with strong interpersonal skills and a curiosity to learn about other cultures and their practices. If you're someone who's been toying with the idea of giving back to society through your work, this could be the field for you!
The basic principle of development cooperation is to make people independent and self-reliant. All over the world, there are development organisations that aim to help people who are disadvantaged in some way - poverty, poor health, lack of economic opportunities, war-torn homelands - to break out of these barriers and lead a free life.
This free life means different things to different people. For some it's access to better and free education, for others it's better health care, and for others it's government subsidies to support large families. These efforts are generally made at the country level, but with a focus on direct individual impact and measured in the same way.
In this context, development assistance is defined as all measures taken by international organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the OECD, etc., as well as by industrialised countries with a high GDP, to support low- and middle-income countries both economically and socially.
These measures can be monetary or financial support, advice (from competent professionals such as scientists, doctors, economists), technical assistance (through material, equipment, training and experts), trade or humanitarian aid (in case of emergencies).
The overall goal of development assistance is to improve the social and economic conditions of people in low- and middle-income countries.
The term development cooperation has been around for a long time. Traditionally, it has almost always meant financial aid to developing countries. But with the conception of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, the focus has also shifted to urgent environmental challenges that already exist, or worse, result from our development efforts.
This is how sustainable development cooperation came into being. Based on the UN's framework for sustainable development cooperation, sustainable development cooperation takes up the goals of previous development work with the promise of ensuring a future for our next generations that won't be compromised to meet our own needs.
Note: The terms "development" and "development assistance" have long been debated and have a controversial history.
One of the terms often used when discussing development aid is humanitarian aid. However, there is a clear distinction between the two. Humanitarian aid refers to the material aid - supplies, equipment, logistical support - that is provided to countries facing an emergency, such as a natural disaster, war, or health emergency (famine, COVID).
This aid is provided with the sole intention of providing emergency relief and saving lives while the government and relevant national and international institutions become capable of dealing with the root cause. As you've probably guessed by now, this is very different from development assistance, which aims to address the root cause of the problem and support long-term solutions.
Development workers are professionals dedicated to assisting vulnerable communities, primarily in the Global South. The main tasks of their role can be divided into two:
While specific requirements vary, development workers are generally expected to have several years of professional experience, be an EU citizen, have a university degree, be fluent in English, and have knowledge of languages from the Global South.
Jobs in development cooperation are diverse and span several sectors. These jobs are very specific to the project they're for and often work on a contract basis. A good starting point to get a sense of the job profile would be to check out the UN Jobs sites.
For each project in these organizations, you will find all the roles that go into making a project run efficiently - project managers, advisors, administrative staff, finance specialists, monitoring and evaluation experts, thematic specialists, data analysts, consultants, interns and working students.
You can also find more technical professionals such as engineers, web developers, video editors, etc., depending on the exact needs of the project and the organization.
If you're someone who finds humanitarian work more relevant and exciting, there's a similar level of diversity in humanitarian jobs. There are different categories to choose from. While response and relief work may seem like the intuitive main task, there is much more to humanitarian aid. You could be involved in advocacy, research, fundraising, administration, counseling, communications, and management in a variety of roles.
Some common job profiles include disaster relief workers, cultural interpreters, doctors, nurses, crisis response managers, and so on.
If you're relatively new to the development sector and haven't figured out exactly what your interests are, you can always start your job search at a broader level. Within Germany itself, you'll find several job boards that focus on aggregating all the job postings from aid organisations around the world. These aid organisations have different areas of focus and can range from humanitarian aid to children's and elderly charities, animal aid, and health care.
Job profiles within these organisations work on a project and contract basis, similar to development organisations. Depending on your professional skills, you may work in emergency response, administration, capacity building, research, consulting, and so on. These contract-based roles also make it easy to move between departments and organisations to find relevant work, as you build a strong portfolio of transferable skills.
Here are some job titles to look for if you're interested in these types of jobs:
If you want to go beyond the job boards and look for work in specific organisations, you can start by looking at the following organisations. These are a mix of governmental and non-profit organisations and always have a need for development workers.
Volunteering abroad is very popular among German students and young adults who want to gain more experience in the development sector. These projects are often sponsored by schools or universities and allow students to gain experience in Asia, Africa, South America, etc. in various fields such as teaching English, helping with the installation of solar panels, building schools, and so on.
These opportunities are also available, although limited, to adults who are no longer in school or training. While this generally refers to the 26-30 age group, there are also special programs for much older people and retirees who want to volunteer after retirement.
There are two main types of adult volunteering - regulated and voluntary. Regulated volunteering has an age limit, such as 30, while flexible volunteering has no age limit. In Germany, there are several organisations, the most important of which is the Bundesfreiwilligendienst (National Voluntary Service), that enable adults and seniors to do social, cultural and environmental volunteer work in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
Volunteering abroad for adults is often not paid and there are some costs involved. If you're doing a regulated volunteering opportunity, it will be subsidised due to the public funding of these programs. Depending on the organisation you're volunteering with, you may also receive accommodation, meals or other support in kind.
However, seniors volunteering on a flexible basis will have to pay not only for accommodation and meals, but also for general administration and preparation costs, etc.
As we've said before, development work is a very broad field that encompasses people with all kinds of skills from all kinds of backgrounds. The great truth about social work is that there is always a shortage and a great need for qualified candidates who are passionate about giving back to society. There are several ways to do this.
The traditional route is, of course, to study development at the university level. There are excellent development studies programs around the world at the best universities, such as the Geneva Graduate Institute and Columbia University, that can be studied at the master's level.
If you know your interests early enough, you can also pursue a bachelor's degree in development studies, although these are rare and often offered in combination with other subjects (such as data analytics). It's more common for students to study Development Studies as a module in broader, more interdisciplinary courses such as International Relations or International Migration.
The second way to get involved in development work is through development internships. These internships are available both in your country and abroad and are offered with the aim of familiarising you with the different roles and tasks involved in any development work.
You will also gain a deeper understanding of the objectives, focus areas and organisational structures of different development organisations. GIZ is an excellent starting point for anyone exploring this field and offers internships of at least 6 months or more throughout the year.
Because the scope of development work is so broad, salaries also vary widely depending on the skills and years of experience you bring to the job.
The salary of a development worker starts as low as about 19,000 €, averages at 46,000 € and can go up to around 78,000 € for higher positions and more years of experience.
It's difficult to give a detailed range of salaries for professionals working at GIZ because the job profiles vary enormously. The salary range above shows the starting salary of around 22,000 € that interns earn. The higher end of the range reflects the salaries of project managers.
In this article, we explored the diverse field of development work, which spans multiple sectors and roles, from social justice to advocacy, project management, IT, consulting, and more. Development work is dedicated to addressing global challenges with a focus on empowering vulnerable people to become independent, competent, and more in control of improving their lives.
There has been a shift in focus towards sustainable development work with a focus on leaving a functioning planet for our future generations. There are several ways to get involved in development work, including various undergraduate and graduate degree programs, internships to gain experience, and volunteer work abroad for adults and seniors. Finally, people who are more interested in working in emergency relief and response should explore job opportunities with humanitarian aid organizations.
Find your development related job on GoGeoGo!
Is intercultural understanding a critical skill for development work?
Development work is about working with and supporting vulnerable communities around the world. This means that effective communication, the ability to build trust and respect, and a deep understanding of cultural sensitivity are absolutely essential to development work.
Does technology have an impact on development work?
Research and development in technology directly contributes to maximising the impact of development work. Technological advances lead to more innovative solutions, better data analysis, greater reach, and new approaches to existing challenges.
How can students keep up with the latest trends, debates, and successes in development work?
The best way is to follow reputable sources such as international organisations working in the field, read their reports, participate in conferences and online forums, and network with people in the industry for unique insights.
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