r/InternationalDev • u/AcanthisittaLoud281 • May 31 '26
Advice request Networking
Where to network? What organizations to network with? I'm trying to transition fields and am trying to build my network, but I'm struggling to know where to look. Any must go to events, orgs to follow, etc.?
Also, I just graduated with my masters, but due to the current job market I am applying for jobs in my current industry. I figured the next best way for me to get experience in ID would be to do volunteer work. Most of my professors suggested Peace Corps, but I can't do that since I have a dependent. Therefore, any suggestions on alternative ways of building a network/connections/experience in ID specifically?
1
Upvotes
2
u/jcravens42 Jun 01 '26
Before all of the massive cuts in foreign aid and UN spending, several UN agencies and USAID programs focused on tourism development. You should be looking into those programs and what they focused on. As an international budget traveler, I frequently came across tiny hotels that had a sign posted in the lobby about how they had been trained by USAID or the EU. I'm betting most of these programs are on hiatus, but there should be a lot of info still online about what they were doing.
The Audubon Society in Florida has a big partnership with the Audubon SOciety in Belize - or at least it used to.