Reflection written by Dr. Eileen Sullivan, PhD ’24 (Education), Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Boston Children’s Hospital
Many of us start a PhD because we want to help others, answer real-world questions, or make a difference. As you near the end of a PhD—or start thinking about next steps—it’s natural to wonder how to turn that goal of making an impact into a reality. Big questions like… “How can I use the skills and expertise from my PhD to help make the world a better place?” or “What career paths will allow me to put my expertise to work and feel fulfilled?” are often on our minds but can feel daunting.
The career chat series PhDs with Purpose through the Mignone Center for Career Success creates a chance to explore questions about impact and career paths beyond academia. In the first session of this series, Dr. Anne Day Leong from UNICEF USA talked about how PhD training could be put to work in meaningful ways at international NGOs. Dr. Leong is the Senior Director of Research, Evaluation, and Research Partnerships at UNICEF USA, a non-profit organization focused on supporting childhood wellbeing in America and internationally. In a wide-ranging and informative conversation, Dr. Leong offered background on the U.N. system, concrete insights into what the day-to-day job at an international NGO can look like, and advice for how to enter this field. The conversation highlighted key takeaways and practical tips for anyone interested in working at an international NGO.
Key Takeaways:
- Roles and responsibilities within international NGOs vary widely
- Throughout the conversation with Dr. Leong, it became clear that organizations like UNICEF USA are vast, and roles vary widely. These NGOs are not monoliths. For example, UNICEF USA has philanthropy, advocacy, youth engagement, and research arms that have interconnected but distinct goals. Dr. Leong recommended digging into the different types of jobs at large organizations to explore roles that could be a good fit for your interests and skills.
- Learning on the job is common
- Dr. Leong gave multiple examples of how she has acquired new skills while in her current role. In academia, our work can sometimes feel very focused, while outside of academia it is common to get out of your comfort zone and stretch your expertise as you go.
- Find your driving force
- A particularly powerful piece of advice that Dr. Leong gave us was to “focus on the problem we want to fix, not on the job we want to have”. Starting with a guiding question or purpose could help to offer clarity or guidance when searching for jobs. The job titles or types of organizations we are looking into vary, but if we first focus on what impact we want to make then we can feel confident in pursuing a career path with the meaning we are looking for.
Practical Tips:
- Reach out for real perspectives
- A concrete, practical tip that Dr. Leong recommended to anyone interested in career paths at organizations like UNICEF USA was to try and reach out to people who have worked there. Large international NGOs can feel like black boxes from the outside, so it’s important to learn about what working there is like from people who have been there, whether it be by reaching out via Linked In or attending events featuring alumni speakers through the Mignone Center for Career Success.
- Prior experience in the sector is a big plus
- When hiring, UNICEF USA highly values when an applicant has prior experience in the government sector or at other international NGOs. Given this, Dr. Leong advised seeking out opportunities early. Consulting or internship opportunities are great options that could be done during a PhD program.
- Focus on communicating your skills
- Dr. Leong emphasized throughout the conversation that communication of your concrete skills is key when applying to jobs in the international NGO sector. While we often focus on our content knowledge and expertise in academia, it is important to shift towards communicating the skills and value you will bring to a job in non-academia.
Conversations like this one can help us to more concretely think through different ways to find meaning in our future career paths. The upcoming installments of the “PhDs with Purpose” series are a chance to keep asking big questions—and to begin exploring additional sectors where our PhD training can align with our values.
