'What's my place in global development?'

You’re a corporate leader without development experience? An nonprofit worker who’s never been abroad? A technical expert who hasn’t consulted on projects funded by the donor you’re interested in? Or a recent university graduate wondering how far your degree will get you?

Global development professionals come with diverse experiences and backgrounds. But when you’re considering a career transition, it’s often hard to predict where you’ll stack up.

This question was front-and-center at our one-hour webinar “Successful Consulting With EuropeAid,” which featured three seasoned consultants and leaders with Technical Assistance Consultants United, a membership organization representing the interests of individual aid experts.

Following the event, TACU’s experts addressed several questions from the webinar audience on how their background fits into the global development consulting space. Here are some of the responses by Henry Leerentveld and Stephen Dewar, the group’s cofounders, as well as Michael Gericke, an advisory board member: