Development work

[Georgina]

Hi there I am looking for a job in development work however I do not have any qualifications as such. I have volunteered for a month in Malawi working at an orphanage which I really enjoyed since then I have been working in Beauty therapy however my true passion is helping.

I am well-travelled person and I am going on a trip for a year to see the world, the places I am visiting are Australia, America and South America and I was wanting to volunteer in these countries I am currently 32 and live in the uk. I am led to believe I can volunteer on a tourist visa as I cannot get the working travel visa due to been too old.

Please if you could help me in some way if there are any stepping stones into getting into this field or a website as I am unsure if I need qualifications as this is what I want to do as a job in the end and so I thought volunteering would be a great opportunity.

[Ben C]

Hi Georgina, that’s great to hear that you’re interested in getting into development. If you are not going to be getting paid and you’re not taking a local position, you should be OK volunteering in those destinations. Here’s some information on visas and volunteering in the US for example: http://money.howstuffworks.com/economics/volunteer/information/can-a-foreigner-volunteer-in-usa.htm

And for Australia: http://volunteeringvictoria.org.au/volunteer/volunteering-on-a-visa/

You should be fine volunteering in countries in S. America too, but I’d recommend doing a bit of research for whichever one you go to, just in case.

While qualifications will help, if you’re willing to work for free, it’ll be hard for an organisation to turn you down! Why not try directly contacting some orgs online and seeing if there is interest. Volunteering is a great way to get into development, so good luck!

[Author]

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