Humanitarian Edge
As you may or may not know, I have an incredible interest in the Humanitarian Sector, and I’ve spent hours and hours scouring the internet to find out how on earth to get in to this impossible sector. I understand it is the biggest growth sector in the world (due to the growing number of conflicts and natural disasters) and is the hardest sector to get in (they need incredibly skilled people). It’s also the worst paid, and requires the most skilled workers. So why on earth would anyone want to do it?
I think it’s because it will be the most rewarding, challenging, life-changing career move that anyone could possibly choose to have. So it’s what I’ve chosen. In the last couple of years I have worked with MSF as a field logistician in Ethiopia, worked with a couple of organisations in Indonesia and Thailand as a volunteer, and most recently I have been working for Compassion Australia as the Donor Relations Manager for WA/SA.
I have included the results of a lot of my research here, so if this interests you, and you’re trying to work out where to start - this is a good beginning point!
Firstly - buy this online book!! It tells you EVERYTHING you would ever want to know about how to get into Humanitarian Work. (Unfortunately it is mostly written for the UK but would give excellent insite for anyone in the world.) The cost is 13.99 Euros, and it’s well worth it!!
http://www.developmentjobs.info/
Secondly - most agencies get so many calls that they aren’t willing to counsel anyone about what they should do, or how they should do it. There is an organisation called World Service Enquiry (again in the UK I am sorry) who will give one-to-one counselling sessions. Very helpful indeed!
http://www.wse.org.uk/
Obviously you will want to check out Compassion Australia, as this is where I will be working, and you will definately want to keep abreast of everything going on there, and maybe part with some of your hard earned cash in that direction! 
You will also want to check out MSF, as this is an incredible organisation - they hold a lot of information about what is going on in the Relief Sector
This is an absolutely fantastic site if you want to keep yourself informed of what is going on in the world. This site tells you absolutely everything that is going on everywhere, and you can arrange to get email updates on a daily basis of all disasters happening and updates for everything happening in the world.
Another awesome site to check out is RedR. RedR provide a lot of training courses all over the world for people looking to get into Humanitarian work, as well as those who are already in the sector. I have already been to two of their courses, and hope to attend another - Essentials of Humanitarian Practise - later in the year.
While I was looking for the other sites, I just came across another one that looks interesting to me, so I’m tucking it away here for my future reading enjoyment.
http://www.gignos.ch/documents.htm
