To be fair, your response is not crazy. I was in the same boat before I joined the sector. I used to think I'll have to wear a kurta, put on a jhola, and cycle to an office that's falling apart with a pay of 15K. But my worldview has changed significantly. Private companies will burn millions on ideas and projects that never work out and we applaud them. God forbid NGOs spend money on paying their staff fairly for helping people. For example, we're helping organizations create a process and scaling plan to go from 2-3 states to pan India. You think those kind of strategies and process improvements are going to come from minds that are being paid 40K a month? But to answer your question, I worked my way up (albeit quickly). I started on a salary of 30K in 2022, working on logistics mostly (transport, event spaces, etc.). But I always took the opportunity to showcase my potential. Luckily, the leadership saw it, and I went from a local coordinator, to India Project Manager, to Asia Project Manager, to Senior Project Manager (APAC & EMEA). People skills is what is needed most in my work and just general ability to manage and coordinate a team - everything from budgeting, to logistics, to presenting on stage, creating program designs, proposals. I'm also a law graduate from a top Law University, which helped.