You have to keep applying. I am 27 years old, no degree but experience working in the Federal government both as a contractor and student intern at one point. My point is that it took me 4 years to get in the government. Sounds like you should apply for government jobs. Yes, it is hard to get in but once you're in the benefits and upward mobility is great. Keep pushing a door will eventually open.

OP you could make more than that as an executive assistant or an office manager someplace. Start looking for jobs, ideally outside DC.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you should try a fed job. I was a GS-14 by age 28 making over $100k. Contribute to public service.

not op - but getting a fed job is not easy. i've been applying for 5 years for fed jobs. no dice.

Anonymous wrote:You need to get out of nonprofits. They are a waste of time unless you are a director - paid well and largely left to their own devices.

You are only 28 and have time to make a change. You should be looking for federal jobs in your area of focus but don't be too narrow. And yes, you should take any fed job that comes along even if the pay is the same - you will be well compensated in terms of other fed benefits which may include grad school assistance.

You shoudl only go to grad school if you can approach it with a plan for how it will advance your career. I don't know your field but if you are in an IR nonprofit think long and hard before going to an IR school - Fletcher, SAIS, SIPA etc. - they are costly and have questionable return on investment (I am a grad of one myself). Don't do IR or JD, etc without a plan for how it will advance your career. This means don't do JD unless you can get in to a top school.

seconded. I'm a grad of one - did it help me get a job offer, yes. But that offer fell through and it has been brutal trying to find something ever since.

at least you ahve a job - i'm 30, with multiple grad degrees and unemployed. want to trade places OP?

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I made more than that my first year out of college, 20 years ago, as an accounting grad.

I'm 28 and my first job did make 38k in 2008. My parents were very upset I took it, but it worked out great and I've had promotions since. I make 80k now.

Wow. I made more than that my first year out of college, 20 years ago, as an accounting grad.

Eh, been there, done that.

I started at a non-profit in my 20s at $35k after a series on unpaid internships. But things got better. The key is to meet people. Eventually one of them will want to hire you and that's how you get a salary jump.

You need to get out of nonprofits. They are a waste of time unless you are a director - paid well and largely left to their own devices.

You are only 28 and have time to make a change. You should be looking for federal jobs in your area of focus but don't be too narrow. And yes, you should take any fed job that comes along even if the pay is the same - you will be well compensated in terms of other fed benefits which may include grad school assistance.

You shoudl only go to grad school if you can approach it with a plan for how it will advance your career. I don't know your field but if you are in an IR nonprofit think long and hard before going to an IR school - Fletcher, SAIS, SIPA etc. - they are costly and have questionable return on investment (I am a grad of one myself). Don't do IR or JD, etc without a plan for how it will advance your career. This means don't do JD unless you can get in to a top school.

Anonymous wrote:I've been stuck in the hellhole that is the Washington think tank and NGO scene. First I slaved away as an unpaid intern and now I make hardly anything. My life is at a standstill. I haven't even been able to move out of the suburbs or finance further schooling.

Please help!

OP, like others, I offer advice and some harsh facts.
Whatever degree you got(if you have one), it helped you land that job, in that organization. You took the job willingly. I assume that you took the job because you believed in its mission/objectives. If you worked for free, I assume it was to get experience. But to stay in the same organization, and wanting not just pay, but higher/better pay, seems insane to me. At a minimum, change jobs, and go to another think tank/NGO. I am honestly not sure how you even survive on that kind of income. Around here that seems like it would put you at or below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, what was your degree? And seriously review what kind of skills you have. Do you have the skills to sell a product or service? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are you better with numbers, or with people? In a cube, or out working in the sun? Where do your interests lie? Any avenue that you can explore to combine the two? As for additional education, I would first arrive at a conclusion about how much you think you would like to make, and then, are you serious about working to get to that point? Also, what do you really, really want to do, career-wise?

Part of me thinks you should've asked these questions of yourself long ago. The other part of me says you are only 28.

My husband made around 38k for years in his 20s working at non-profits and a cheap government contractor. The cost of living has gone up so much in DC it's really hard to live on 38k here. I remember being so excited when he finally hit 50k at 30. But we were still struggling. He now makes about 95k at 31.

He had to switch careers to something totally different. He has a masters but it turned out to be useless. It really wasn't easy for him to make a career switch but he had no choice because it's hard to survive in this area on low incomes. If you can't find something better paying I'd also look into moving somewhere else with a lower cost of living.

OP, you should try a fed job. I was a GS-14 by age 28 making over $100k. Contribute to public service.

OP, I work in non profits. NGO's are a different story, I'll admit, but still. Got get a job at a university where you can take advantage of the tuition benefits and get a masters. Choose your degree wisely. Always keep looking for a better gig. Always keep pushing for more projects, more ways to build your skills. Don't believe the nonsense that lots of jobs will hurt you. Frequent moves (I.e. every 2 years) done strategically and with increasing responsibility, will get you there. At 27 I made $33K. At 38 I make $95K with increasing upside potential. Got a master's at 34. You have to bust your ass and make it happen. Don't wait for someone to hand it to you.

No need to stay in NGOs if that is the pay. You may have luck with Associations. They pay better (most) and are a ton of them in DC. Associations are like 60% nonprofit feel / 40% corporate.

From the glass half full perspective, you can only go up in salary. You may be more attractive to employers because your salary base is lower.

Get out of nonprofits/NGOs unless you're the one at the top running the scheme. They are all a huge scam.