The NGO story : Career scope

Think of the world NGO and what comes to your mind ?
Well ,A few people who immediately spring to ,mind are Baba Amte, Mother Teresa, Arundhati Roy and Medha Patkar.

NGO workers often find themselves slotted as idealists, feminists,dreamers and rebels.
In our country, running a succesful NGO requires nerves of steel. The bereaucracy and red-tape can be stifling. The public apathy appalling and the problems themselves almost unsurmountable in size and scale.

But hats off to the NGOs who have really made a difference.
There are some NGOs who exist merely to stay in the spotloght. Their executives seen only occasionally in Page 3 dos and parties. But there are hundreds and hundreds of others who keep out of the spotlight and prefer to make a diference to our country in a tireless , efficient way.

"A career in an NGO ?" chuckled my friend."You must be f****** crazy !" He has a point. Both of us are students of one of India's most reputed and elite management schools.Both of us could walk out of here with jobs that pay the equivalent of $17000 per year (To put that in prespective...India' s percapita income was $285 last year.)

I had a point too.NGOs have come a long way and have now become as professional as most companies. And gone are the days when only socialites (with lots of money) , housewives (with lots of time), retired people (with lots of experience) and students (with lots of enthusiasm)

Walk into any well run NGO and you will find lawyers,engineers even MBAs.
And mind you ..not all of them are there for the "satisfaction" and the "happiness." NGOs have started offering competitive pay to their employees.

The international NGOs are possibly the most sought after for employment. CARE and WorldVision being cases in point. The well run Indian ones include CRY (Child relief and You.)
Careers in NGOs abound for doctors, nurses,teachers ,lawyers and engineers.
MBAs are also sought after for their management skills. But it is a sad truth that most MBAs simply do not find the field lucrative enough to join.

The biggest plus ?
After MBA, what do you do ?
Work for a bank in New York ? Crunching numbers?
Work for an Consumer firm ? Hawking Cigarettes ?
Feed the hungry , help the destitute and bring a smile to the faces of countless of your fellow countrymen..
Does the last option look lucrative to you ?
Chances are that it does...Chances are that it doesnt.
A career in an NGO does not give you an A/C office, an official car and a fat bank balance.
But it will give you a deep sense of self worth and enough money to keep yourself comfortable.

There are of course a few, who have foregone oppurtunities for personal gain to help heal the lives of others. These are the real heroes of our country who deserve to be saluted.

One such hero in my next post...


CRY can be reached here
Careers in CRY is here

It offers an insight into the oppurtunities available.I'm sure they will be an eyeopener for most of us.