Most people my age are still trying to figure out where they fit in this business of making a living. Fortunately for me, I figured out where I wanted to be early on – the nonprofit sector. Unfortunately, also early on I realized that nonprofit work can pretty much suck if you have to be a receptionist or an administrative assistant for the first 5 years of your career, and I was determined not to do that. I am 24 years old. When my colleagues and peers find this out, they usually look at me in disbelief: “How can you be in charge of anything when you’re soooo young? My god, you’re a baaaaby!” Yeah, okay. This ‘baby’ can run your nonprofit with more skill and professionalism than some folks twice my age, and too bad for the sector we still haven’t realized that when it comes to skills and abilities, age ain’t nothin’ but a number. This is my story.
I came to the sector six years ago as a volunteer reading tutor for at-risk first-graders and knew immediately that social change was what I would be doing for the rest of my life. When I stepped off the stage as a new college graduate three years ago, I also knew that the next step for me would be graduate school. I quickly chose a graduate degree program in the city I wanted to work in (DC) and began my first real nonprofit job at the same time. I ended up selecting Trinity University’s Master’s program for the most part because the program could be completed in an accelerated time frame (half the time of a traditional Master’s) and I am both impatient and an overachiever. The coursework wasn’t shabby either:
ADMN 601 Excellence in Managing Contemporary Organizations
ADMN 603 Theories of Leadership and Organizational Change
ADMN 605 Group Dynamics and Team Building
ADMN 607 Financial Management for Non-Financial Managers
ADMN 609 Introduction to Research
ADMN 677 Effective Human Resource Strategies
ADMN 631 Trends and Issues in Nonprofit Management
ADMN 633 Nonprofit Marketing and Public Relations
ADMN 603 Theories of Leadership and Organizational Change
ADMN 605 Group Dynamics and Team Building
ADMN 607 Financial Management for Non-Financial Managers
ADMN 609 Introduction to Research
ADMN 677 Effective Human Resource Strategies
ADMN 631 Trends and Issues in Nonprofit Management
ADMN 633 Nonprofit Marketing and Public Relations
ADMN 635 Government Relations and Grant Writing for Nonprofits
ADMN 637 Nonprofit Resource Development and Fundraising
ADMN 638 Nonprofit Financial Management and Budgeting
ADMN 639 Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Board Development
Most nonprofit workers will tell you that you do not need an advanced degree to succeed in a nonprofit career, and I would agree with them in a general sense. For the kinds of entry-level positions in which college graduates are usually placed, a rapid typing speed, a can-do attitude, and a strong sense of patience are all you need to do data entry, answer phones, make endless copies, or stuff envelopes. But if you want to move up in this business more quickly and actually make a living wage from doing social change kinds of work, you will need to obtain a Master’s degree. Perhaps this is becoming more and more true for all professions, but I can only speak to mine.
I started my full-time nonprofit career as an Administrative Assistant, then graduated to a Program Assistant, and then a Director of Development, all within different organizations and subsectors and all within three years, doubling my salary in the same timeframe. I learned a lot in all of my positions, being that I’m a quick learner and was eager to stay late and work weekends to learn my job as well as everyone else’s. And I was clearly competent before I went to graduate school, but try telling that to the folks I interviewed with as I kept trying to apply my skills to more advanced positions. All they could see was that I hadn’t “put in my time” long enough to know anything. That’s how I know for a fact that I would not have the position I have today if not for my Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management. Trinity University taught me well and gave me a strong foundation with which to make sense out of my experience, but it also gave me something my few years of experience could not: validity. The first thing my boss said as he introduced me to the Board Chair in my first week of work was, “Meet Rosetta Thurman, she has a Master’s degree.” Smiles all around.
My experience is just one of many stories I have heard from young nonprofit professionals trying to break into upper management. Sometimes, to get past the barriers facing promotion, we need to take matters into our own hands. It was well worth it to me to spend the money to obtain my Master’s in order to double my annual salary. Don’t think you have to “put in your time” just because that’s how everyone else has done it. It’s a waste of your good talent sitting at a desk answering phones and you know it. Identify what will get you to your goals faster and then do it.
This is my journey, now you decide yours. What’s your story?
Updated: Here’s a comprehensive list of nonprofit management programs across the country.
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