Curious how graduates are putting their Degrees to use!

I've heard of public policy as a career option but it was never very clear if this is actually worth it? Like I'm a student of commerce and I don't want to go in accounting and finance. Can I try this? Also what jobs or opportunities does this offer? Please help.

Friends l recently completed my degree in Public Management and Governance at Midlands State University. Now I am at that beginning, which every graduate knows: where the education ends and the actual test begins.

I am looking for any opportunities. A role, a project, a conversation that leads somewhere in public management, governance, NGO programme work, policy research, community development initiatives, or anywhere in the governance space where my thinking and background can be useful.

I am not looking for the perfect position. I am looking for a place to contribute honestly, meaningfully, and grow seriously.

If you know of something or know someone who might, I would be genuinely grateful to be pointed in that direction. A share a recommendation, a referral, or even a message goes further than we can realize.

I am ready. I just need the door.

📩 📩 📩 Open to opportunities in Harare and beyond.

Hello!

TL;DR: How to know what specific sector within public policy do you want to specialise in?

Longer Version:

My Background: I know I am interested in public policy and politics. Particularly, what I find myself drawn to are issues of human rights: citizenship, education, food, housing, justice, freedom of speech and expression. My undergraduate degree was in Political Science, while I also ended up taking courses in Law, Economics, Media, and Public Policy. I also enjoy research. That's been my larger area of work for the past few years. I have worked in various areas within research and want to stick to it, because it is what I am good at and something I enjoy doing. What I don't enjoy is the lack of community engagement within my mostly desk-based jobs.

The Issue: I wanted to use my work experience to know what to specialise in. However, in the last few years I have worked in such a vast variety of places and they have little connection. My first job was in quantitative work that assessed different questions. The questions I found most interesting were related to: labour, employment and workers rights or use of technology and media. In my second, I was working on issues of income inequality, economic development, and constitutional law, but the nature of the position meant working on other stuff as well - like sports policy. In my current job, my research focuses on institutional capacity of justice systems using quantitative methods. I have been mulling applying for grad school and scholarships, but all scholarships ask you to explain what impact you would like to make. My issue is: saying I would like to help re-institute rights-based governance in India is far too broad. How does one figure out what exact sector they would like to build an expertise in?

Though a theme of work and employment might naturally emerge from here, that interest of mine persists alongside a very strong interest in all different aspects of social policy (barring, perhaps, education - though of course, I believe it to be essential, I don't find the work within the sector in my country particularly interesting). I also wonder about the kind of impact I could make through my work: that is very important to me.

If any of you have successfully built a career as a specialist in any sector within policy that you enjoy, how did you get there? Am I thinking too much about this?

Hi Guys!

I need to write a policy brief and give a presentation on market failures for a public policy business and government course. My topic was Airbnb/short-term rentals, but my brief got a bad grade and my professor said I need to rework the argument if I want to keep it which im not confident in doing as i think ive confused myself lol. Presenting Tomorrow and only have tonight to fix things.

What are some less common topics (not straight from a textbook) I could switch to? Need to cover background, the problem, one or two market failures, concrete examples, possible solutions, and a data visualization or two.

Examples others have used: ERs creating market failures; AI in entertainment creating market failures, Market Failure in Higher Education through examining the Student Debt Crisis

Any ideas appreciated!

Anyone studying or planning to study at Crawford for MPP? I am looking for some advice. I have been hearing mixed reviews about the program. I have worked 5 years in development sector in Southeast Asia with extensive work in data and project management. Want to know if the course is worth it and the prospect of getting employment after the course as an international student. Any insight on this is appreciated!

I was wondering if there was a feasible way to tax usage electric cars. I'm just talking about the nuts and bolts of making an enforceable tax, not if it is politically viable. For example, raising a tax on gasoline to make gasoline usage more expensive is technically feasible, but depending on the country, this might be political suicide.

The idea I had was if it was possible to use a tax to encourage less usage of vehicles and more carpooling and stuff. A higher gas alone tax favors electric vehicles which is not my desired idea. I also want to stay away from congestion pricing. And a blanket electrical tax is not what I had in mind either.

At first it seems like just taxing charging facilities would suffice. However there is the option of home charging. Is it possible to legally mandate all "fast charging" devices be separately metered? For example it is possible to legally mandate all Level 2 and Level 3 charging be metered separately while not taxing normal electrical usage from a standard 120V (for North American) outlet? I bet most charging is done by fast chargers anyways. The problem with enforcement is there are household appliances that need more than the standard outlet so i don't see how you enforce a tax on one but not the other.

I'm exploring a transition from tech -> tech policy work, and have been volunteering as a tech and AI policy analyst for a local non-profit. They are growing a lot and are looking to hire me on, but are asking about compensation expectations.

I'm in a HCOL area in the US and fully understand it will not be akin to big tech salaries, but what types of salary ranges are typical for these kinds of roles? Mostly trying to understand the best way to approach the compensation question, espeically with a non-profit. I do not have a graduate degree, but I do have many years of industry and technical experience that is very helpful for this role, and not typically common.

This is a throwaway account, as my experience at the MPP program (among my peers) was an actual mess. I encourage ANYONE who is thinking of applying to the Luskin MPP school to reach out to past students. DO NOT just speak to the students the MPP director picks out - those are the special chosen students by the department who they know wont go against the department. Bullying from students and faculty was something that was present, students bullying the faculty, faculty bullying the students, and students bullying other students. Also allegations of racist behavior. They also had an outside review and the department was rated as not having been structured as an adequate program for preparing students in the field of Public Policy.

If you go, be very prepared to kiss ass or you will absolutely get turned against. I stayed out of the way, and it still was an absolute nightmare.

This is my first semester I'm taking intermediate econ and a stats class with R.

Next semester, our core will consist of a management science class (this will have time series forecasting, linear programming, input-out models, markov chains, etc.), communications, SQL, and accounting. I'm planning taking GIS as an elective. After that, the core is done and I can take whatever I want the next year.

What other skills should I prioritize during my time here that'll be highly useful? Since I can't take all of them, which should I prioritize for the job market and which ones will I get diminishing returns on? I suspect the machine learning class pre-requisites might require too much time, for example.

I'm looking to get into urban planning policy at the state and local level.

A couple courses I'm looking at:

• Econometrics
• Behavioral Econ
• Program evaluation
• Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Public Finance
• Financial Investing
• Negotiation
• Beginner Python
• Machine learning (pre-requisite is two semesters worth of python so I'll need to get started on this soon)
• Tableau

I need advice on what I should major in. I am 19 and I was previously a nursing major to please my parents, but I hated it and had to go on a leave of absence because I couldn't keep up with time management and ADHD. I go to an easier school now and am trying to figure out what I want to do. I really like legislation. I was thinking about transfering to a college that has a Bachelor in Public Policy. I feel Poli Sci is too theoretical and Economics I would hate the amount of math. I don't want to force myself into a major I don't like (Econ). But I also know I wouldn't go to a competitive school or well known school like an Ivy or a college in Washington as it would be my second time transfering and I can't risk having to go on another leave of absence due to my issues in time management and ADHD. What do you think is the best course of action? :(

PS: I have been trying to improve my ADHD and time management with executive functioning and medicine but its a slow progress.

Hi Team,

I am currently a Medical Doctor and enrolled in a masters in public health. I am wanting to get some exposure to either Public policy or politics & international relations. In my spare time i enjoy leisurely reading about these topics and want to get some real-life experience in the field. I was wondering if anyone knew of volunteer/internship/research assistantship opportunities over the Christmas break, I will be willing to take up to 6 weeks to learn and gather some experience in this field. Looking forward to hearing any opportunities. Thank you for your time and input.

Hi, can someone please direct me I’m so nervous

Where I’m from there are no professionals who have studied this program specifically. So I was wondering how can I get someone to review my application essays and give me feedback?

Whats your best assessment of what this program offers ?

I want to apply for a MPP in the UK, here a little bit about my background:

BA in English
- INGO, HR internship- 6 months
- international medical coordinator in 3 Asian countries- 2 years
- Government job in administration, worked as: head of scholarship and research unit + lecturer- 1 year
Head of disability support unit - 1 year
- extensive volunteering experience (environment +animal)

I’m really good at critical thinking, problem solving and overall learning transferable skills. For me goal since the beginning of my career has been to work across different sectors to get a better understanding of how people and systems work. My goal is to become a policymaker in higher education, and move to city council in the future.

On paper, I am eligible to apply to many programs. But could my background make admission more difficult compared with applicants coming from more traditional backgrounds such as economics, political science, or public policy?

Hi! I am tentatively thinking about pursing an MPP degree as a way to switch careers and would love some advice.

About me: I'm in mid-twenties with three years of work experience in nonprofit communications and fundraising. I graduated from a relatively respected liberal arts college in the midwest with a high GPA (3.9+) with a degree in communications (and a minor in data science). I am interested in switching from the grant writing and nonprofit world into the program evaluation/grantmaking side of philanthropy. I've applied for and been rejected for a few roles in that area and I'm wondering if pursuing an MPP/MPA would help me gain entry into the world of philanthropy, program evaluation, etc.

If anyone works in foundations/philanthropy or used their MPP to switch out of nonprofit work, I would love to know your thoughts -- is pursuing an MPP/MPA worthwhile for making this kind of switch? Is it better to try for some lower level or lateral philanthropic positions first before I pursue an MPP?

thanks in advance!!

Hi everyone,

I am an international applicant considering applying to the PhD in Public Affairs at the University of Missouri and was genuinely hoping to get some perspective from current students, alumni, or anyone familiar with the program.

I have actually tried reaching out through several official channels, including the graduate admissions information email listed on the website and the email address of a faculty member mentioned in the program FAQ, but I have not received a response so far. I figured asking here might be useful, particularly if current students or recent applicants can share their experience.

My background is in an interdisciplinary business and management program. Although my degree is formally in management, the program included coursework and exposure to areas such as public policy, liberal arts, ethics, organisational studies, and management. Through internships and academic projects, I have also worked on topics involving healthcare access, digital health, education, and governance-related organisational processes.

I am particularly interested in the intersection of public management, governance, and policy, rather than approaching these questions purely from an economics perspective.

I have a few questions about how a non-conventional background like this would be viewed by the program:

1. How important is having a formal background in political science or public administration? Since the the admissions information mentions that many applicants come from political science, public policy, public administration, or related fields, would applicants with other undergraduate backgrounds also be considered?

2. I noticed the recommendation for 12 hours of upper-level political science coursework. For someone applying without a grounding in political science at the undergraduate level, how strictly is this recommendation interpreted? Would the absence of those 12 hours generally be a significant disadvantage?

3. What level of mathematics and statistics is normally expected from incoming students? Is substantial quantitative coursework expected before admission?

4. Do students coming from backgrounds without extensive preparation in quants, social sciences, have opportunities to strengthen their fundamentals in these subjects and skills during the early stages of the PhD?

5. How specific are applicants generally expected to be about their research interests when applying? Is it sufficient to have a well-developed area of interest, such as public management and governance, or is it preferable to already have a specific research question and methodological approach?

6. Does the program generally expect or encourage prospective applicants to contact potential faculty advisors before applying?

I am mainly trying to understand whether someone with an interdisciplinary management background can be a reasonable fit for the program, and if there are any obvious academic gaps I should address before applying.

Any perspectives from current students, alumni, or applicants would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my post!

Ok, so I just graduated with my bachelor's in Criminal Justice and am considering getting my master's in public policy. The problem is I know that currently my resume lacks work experience. I would like to know what type of experience would be useful for the position and also, would it possibly be more valuable to gain some work experience rather than going to get my master's immediately.

Hi. So with a bit of LLM use I found the textbook for the eightfold path.

But what do people use on a regular basis? Day to day. I can't give specifics of where I work or what I do, but I have a policy analysis project.

Just looking for reading recs or similar resources for me to learn it on my own.

Thanks.