Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation is one of the most straight forward people on TV. Let him help you prepare for what we know won’t be an easy conversation.
1
Start by setting expectations for how the conversation will go
2
Find the ‘Elon Musk’ of the development sector (or 3-4 of them), and share details about their life (as proof that it can be done)
3
Explain that you actually enjoy working in the field/doing research/running programmes
4
Make them question the intelligence of your friends outside the sector. (While they might be making 4x your salary, they don’t even know what feminism is.)
5
In fact, they’ve never even been to a protest! (Not for CAA, not for climate change, not for police brutality, not for Kashmir, nothing)
6
Acknowledge that you could have been making a lot more money in another field
7
And offer the knowledge and ‘real world experience’ you get in the sector as a counter
8
Reassure them that you will not crumble under the pressure of being overworked and underpaid (Pro tip: it’s okay to stretch the truth sometimes)
9
And that they too will eventually understand what you do, and why it’s important
