Five reasons to consider a career in development

Bangladesh is often quoted as the "Silicon Valley of development". Whether the skeptics agree with it or not, the country is well known to the world as a development success story that has lifted millions of people out of poverty over the last four decades. The thriving development sector of Bangladesh houses hundreds of local and international NGOs, donor organisations, social enterprises and consulting firms. Interestingly, despite having worldwide reputation, majority of Bangladeshi graduates seem to be unaware of the wonderful achievements accomplished by this sector and career opportunities available in development organisations. Hence they miss the opportunity that is waiting just next door.

In the list of potential employers from development secgtor, there are world famous organisations such as BRAC and Grameen Bank. In addition to that, a number of social enterprises are coming up and creating career opportunities for the brightest minds of Bangladesh. Regardless of whether someone has a BBA, MBA,an engineering degree or a BA in development studies, there are job openings in this sector that fits into his background, due to the massive size of the sector. From the author's personal experience, here are five reasons why fresh graduates should consider working in the development sector and how it may be an incredible journey for youths who love challenges and want to do something different.

1. Infinite scope for innovation: The old narrative of development has already been challenged by a swarm of young professionals joining the sector from non-development background. It is no wonder that many more are following their path. In the top development organisations, it is not unusual anymore to find a business graduate, a programmer and a media studies major working together in a team. Such diversity brings fresh perspectives and ideas into the sector, which has a long history of creating impressive solutions for the poor. If someone is interested into learning and innovation, development sector could be a good option.

2. Opportunity to see the real face of Bangladesh: Majority of urban youths who were born and raised in Dhaka hardly get a chance to know the country. Fortunately, in most of the development organisations, travelling outside Dhaka is an inseparable part of work. There is a popular saying that magic happens outside a person's comfort zone. So if someone is up for a new challenge- it is recommended to step out of his/her comfort zone of Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara and familiarise himself/herself with the country as well as its people.

3. Better work-life balance: It is often hard to realise the value of work-life balance in student life when friends are always around. However, the scenario changes quickly when each of them gets busy in his/her own career and even arranging a get-together becomes the most difficult task in the world! Usually, compared to the corporate sector, development organisations offer a lot more breathing space in this regard. At least for young professionals, if they come to office  on time and are efficient enough, they can leave office on time too.

4. Plenty of scholarship opportunities: Those days are gone when employees used to start working in a company and continue working there till they retired. Today's youths are ambitious, opportunistic and not satisfied with less when they can achieve more. Many of them aspire to go abroad for higher studies and choose to join development sector because of the generous number of scholarships available to study development related subjects in the USA and European countries. Working in a reputed development organisation for three to five years builds an ideal background to apply for such opportunities.

5. Working for the people who need it most: Being a citizen of a developing country, one cannot ignore the presence of many people around deprived of their basic needs. In this age of social media, it is very easy to post heart-touching statuses on facebook, or create a twitter storm with one's favourite hashtag. However, doing something meaningful requires real commitment to improve people's lives. While there are plenty of ways to do so, working in the development sector is a simple and straightforward one. At least one gets to understand the challenges faced by the poor everyday and develops empathy for them. No matter in which sector one settles down later, life lessons learned while working in development get embedded in one's heart for good.

Similar to any other sector, the development sector has its fair share of problems. There are numerous signboard-only NGOs that do nothing, at best. Also there is common saying, "NGOs are in the business of poverty". There are at least 10 frontline staff working quietly in the remotest parts of the country- delivering health services or teaching poor children. When a development worker says he/she is proud to work in this sector, there are honest stories behind that.

As Bangladesh becomes a middle-income country, the development organisations need to match the changing needs of the clients. In order to do so, this sector needs talented as well as committed workforce more than ever. Gandhi rightly said, maybe as a reminder to all the potential development professionals out there who are yet to make their minds, "Be the change you wish to see in the world".

The writer is Deputy Manager at BRAC Social Innovation Lab,

[email protected]