Jobs to make the world a better place
With university studies in international development
Do you look at the world around you and think: surely there has to be something I can do about this?
Climate change, poverty, bad leadership, racial injustice, inequality, war and systems that don’t work! How can we make our communities better? It can feel like the biggest problems are so huge that there’s no obvious way in.
Changing a broken system needs people who understand communities, can speak to governments, build organisations, suggest where money goes, research what works and solve practical problems on the ground. Here are people who did exactly that and the different jobs they had after studying global or international development.
Become an aid worker
After studying at LSE, Rory Dillon took what was supposed to be a temporary, part-time job with a charity working in Ethiopia. It turned into a decade-long career move helping run projects across different countries, and he now works for CAMFED, an organisation that helps girls get an education. “It was really valuable to have space and time to dig into the fundamental questions about what interventions work to improve people’s lives and how things can go wrong even with good intentions.”
Be a storyteller
Natalie Collins studied International Development at the University of Manchester and credits the broad scope and practical application of a development degree with helping her move into media officer and storytelling roles. She has worked with charities including Scope, Refuge and Shelter and says her studies help her “ensure that the stories we’re telling provide an insightful, nuanced and respectful narrative of the people within them.”
Work for a charity
Freya Thompson undertook an MSc Development Studies at LSE. She worked with the UK-based WONDER Foundation on projects involving women’s empowerment, migrant women and families. She built up extensive experience of managing volunteers, a critical resource for keeping the charity sector running and is now an inpatient Services Volunteer Coordinator for an NHS trust. “I was also able to apply my knowledge from my degree in how power structures worked within spaces of activism, in particular the importance of listening to what steps were currently being taken and learning how I can fit into these existing systems and where my place was best suited for an existing community.”
Work as a consultant
Max Baiden studied a Bachelor of international development from University of East Anglia, and since then has worked in Ethiopia, Nepal and Ukraine to name a few countries where he has supported analysis and operations. “When I first finished my degree in the summer of 2014, all I wanted to do was travel around the world and volunteer wherever I could. I did not really mind where I went, as long as I was on the road and helping a few people along the way!” He went on to work in a private sector development consultancy firm, learning different ways to deliver development.
Start something yourself
Lavinya Stennett didn’t wait for someone else to fix a problem she could see. After studying African Studies and Development at SOAS, (where she played a leadership role advocating for black students) she founded The Black Curriculum, an organisation working to make Black British history a bigger part of what young people learn in school.
Help the corporate sector be more accountable
After studying Development Studies at Birkbeck, Regan Leahy led a programme at law firm Hogan Lovells that connected employees with projects linked to the UN’s global goals, including work with young people. She now works at a consultancy advising clients on all aspects of their sustainability including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, stakeholder engagement, and reporting and communications.
Observe our interaction with the land
Paul Hutchings undertook degrees in Geography and Development Studies from the University of Liverpool, then did a PhD focused on rural water supply. He worked on an Australian aid-funded Community Water project in India. He is now an academic, researcher and a lecturer.
Change where money goes
Jude Chisom Erondu took Development Studies at LSE into finance and technology. His career has included sustainable investing and asset management, and he is now building an AI company focused on investment information. “My degree gave me a systems-level perspective on how institutions, markets, technology, and policy shape economic development. It taught me to think beyond individual companies and understand the broader structural forces that influence industries and long-term value creation.”
Help people in a crisis
Beryl Lo studied Development Studies at Sussex and went on to work in humanitarian aid, including with the UN World Food Programme in Myanmar. Humanitarian workers are the people who help immediately after disasters, during conflicts or when communities are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials.
As these snapshots show, there isn’t really one “Development Studies job”. As these alumni show, you could find yourself working in a government office, charity, classroom, bank, technology company, university – or somewhere you’ve not even thought ot. What connects these careers is the same question: how can we understand the problems facing people and places, and what can we do about them?