In the past, becoming a humanitarian aid worker didn’t involve much more than an interest in helping, and a direction in which to go, but in the past couple of decades, the interest as grown, and so has the difficulty one faces when wanting to become a humanitarian aid worker. The humanitarian aid sector is becoming more and more professionalized, which is ultimately a very good thing for the mission, but does mean that aspiring aid workers need to devise and maintain a plan in order to fulfil their dreams in this career path laden with fulfillment.

Here are some options for blazing your trail in humanitarian aid.

Education

To land a paid gig for a humanitarian aid organization, a master’s degree is all-but required in and beyond 2020. Though there are generally humanitarian jobs across the gamut of employment opportunities, a good way to open up your options is to pursue a master’s degree related to humanitarian aid.

Diplomacy is often the name of the game when it comes to humanitarian relations, and pursuing a master’s in this field would be a good move for someone interested in creating new humanitarian initiatives. One subfield that is very popular is that in cyber diplomacy, aimed at improving education and resources via connectivity to the world wide web.

If your aim is to work directly with people in foreign countries, healthcare may be your best bet, and many nursing programs offer emphases in humanitarian aid, which are great starts, but a master’s or doctorate in nursing will certainly increase your chances at working for a humanitarian organization. If you still want to be on the “front lines” but aren’t crazy about healthcare, pursuing a degree in environmental engineering or a field related to sustainability should be heavily considered.

Additionally, if you want to be involved, but want to try to avoid some of the environmental hazards that come with this work, a master’s of nonprofit management is a perfect career path for someone looking to serve a more office role within a humanitarian organization.

Volunteer

As the humanitarian aid workforce gets tougher and tougher to join, every little notch on a resume will help. Just as unpaid internships in the business sector show potential employers a dedication to the craft beyond money, so do volunteer service trips for someone hoping to make a life out of humanitarian aid. If you have an end goal already, planning your volunteerism accordingly is a sensible move to bolster the resume, but if you just know you want to work in the field, a volunteer trip can help you decide which direction to further your studies in so you can wind up with your dream job!

Pay Your Dues

Expecting to land the perfect job in the humanitarian space isn’t something you should shy away from, but it is something you should be prepared to work very hard for, just like most other sectors. For most people, a job at the stateside headquarters of a given organization isn’t their idea of a dream job, but you can rest assured that people who do hold those dream jobs spent some time grinding away at HQ, or doing something else that not everyone else was very quick to sign up for. By showing an understanding that all parts of the whole are important, and by really doubling down on that by showing you have worked the less illustrious jobs in the sector, the odds of proverbial doors opening to you increase exponentially.

Re-evaluate

If one thing is for sure in the path to humanitarian aid jobs, it’s that nothing is for sure. Missions, funding, personnel, etc. all change frequently, and while you may think you’re on a path to landing a desirable job, things can change very quickly and you should be prepared to change too. No matter the field, you are gaining valuable experience on any path relating to aid, so even if a change is deemed necessary after re-evaluation, your time on a different path will certainly not be for naught.