Yes and no. It really depends on what you're looking for. Local organizations are usually easier to enter than large international (and really popular) NGOs. Look for local organizations that are addressing large problems and you'll surely find a position!

Click here to read our top 10 tips on applying for a humanitarian job.

Absolutely! It's not hard to find a job once you've worked in the humanitarian sector. After all, you have a lot of experience with challenging cases.

Humanitarian organizations often operate with less budget. In order to make every penny count, they won't let you spend your time on useless tasks. You will most certainly make a difference. When you work on the operational side, such as fieldwork, you can see the impact that you and your team have on a day-to-day base. When you work on a more strategic level and spend most of your time doing research or working on long-term projects, your impact won't be as direct as the impact of your colleagues in the field, but you did contribute to that same impact. And remember, Rome was not built in a day!

Overall, the average starting salary in the humanitarian sector is a bit lower than in the private sector. This is mostly caused by the high outliers in the private sector.  Humanitarian organizations are focussed on making an impact. Hence humanitarian organizations cannot always match the competing salaries of private organizations, such as international banks or tech companies. However, you are certainly not being underpaid and won't have to worry about your financial situation.

As humanitarian organizations are impact-oriented, internships are often unpaid or underpaid. However, they do help you encounter the humanitarian work field and build relevant experience and networks as a humanitarian.