<p>What a great goal - and what a great start you have to getting there. Not many have the ability and time to work towards a goal. Time is really on your side, you can work up a great resume without getting killed by stress. Starts building up your EC’s and make contacts. Studying languages is a great beginning and essential. French is latin language as is Spanish. The fundamentals in grammar are similar, so once you get fluent in one, the second is easier. Try and do a semester in France in your second year - your teacher will know about exchange programs, that would be the cheapest option. Look into any volunteer work/internships you can get with organizations that have international aid fields - Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, The Gates Foundation, etc. Check the Philanthropy News pages for scholarships such as The Bezos Scholars Program (not until your junior year, but check out the requirements now and work towards it) - If you do not do it already, start reading news papers, check into foreign editions of Le Monde, Die Spiegel and The Guardian - get the New York Times news link of the day. Politics are important, check out the different political parties and see what their agendas are towards the UN and International Aid. Volunteer with a party you feel comfortable with and try and make contacts. Everywhere try and make contacts and ask for advice - and then go your own way towards your goals. There is a lot out there if you are enthusiastic, curious and open to adventure.</p>
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<p>trust me, as someone who grew up in one of the “developing countries where corruption is an everyday occurence” prudence, common sense, and *experience * not understanding some language will prevent you from being fleeced.</p>
<p>Anyways, I also pointed out that UN jobs are not based on the prestige of your school. The UN is not an American organization. If you were applying to the World bank thats different. The UN is based on ability, and that ability comes in different forms from different individuals with multivaried experience. Look at UN job descriptions, they always ask for work experience, not whether you went to Princeton or whatever.</p>
<p>trust me sefago, as someone who spent a great deal of time living and working in a couple of developing countries, I found that knowing the language went a long way to protect myself, and my project, from theft and corruption. Meantime often I witnessed field workers at the mercy of (often corrupt) interpreters totally get snookered. To put it politely. </p>
<p>I am now ending this discussion: OP, again, my advice is to study languages, travel when you can, read everything you can, get into a good school with good travel/field work opportunities – and have fun. See the world & become truly a part of it: it’s enormously satisfying.</p>
<p>^apparently this guy does get told when he’s about to be robbed. Good thing he speaks the language. Too bad he doesn’t have the common sense to step in when he sees his field workers getting robbed. He also is apparently under the impression that he has the power to stop a discussion with other people. Quite pathetic really.</p>
<p>“The UN is not an American organization. If you were applying to the World bank thats different.”</p>
<p>The World Bank is not an American organization either Sefago</p>
<p>Yeah by book but they do tend to hire people from elite colleges in the US. Also the head is always American</p>
<p>How to Pursue a Career with the UN or Other International Humanitarian Organizations</p>
<p>[How</a> to Pursue a Career with the United Nations or Other International Humanitarian Organizations](<a href=“http://www.coyotecommunications.com/stuff/workabroad.shtml]How”>How to Pursue a Career with the United Nations or Other International Humanitarian Organizations)</p>
<p>dragonis, I live in an undeveloped country (in Asia, not Africa) that is absolutely crawling with workers with internatioal government agencies and NGOs of all sorts. If I had to make one general statement I would say that these are very smart well educated people.</p>
<p>Undergraduate can be anything or anywhere. Schools like Tufts and Georgetown are good because they get you started on the hiring track early on, but the key for undergraduate is go to the best school that you can get into and while there take advantage of language programs, travel opportunities and most importantly interships and summer jobs that will expose you to the public works / NGO / humanitarian organization network.</p>
<p>The choices and opportunities are vast. Once you pick your area of interest – e.g., health, environment, labor, education – you need to start building your connection network. After a few years in the field, find a graduate program that matches your focus. Just about all NGO/Agency heads have advanced degrees; PhDs are not uncommon. Peace Corps is also an excellent route to influential positions.</p>
<p>US agencies like USAID and International agencies like the UN or the Worldbank work in collaboration with NGOs and private consulting companies. Often the agency provides the funds and the private firm provides the expertise and the workers on a contract basis. It’s a very complicated and incestuous web, but once you’re in with the right people, projects keep coming.</p>