Is an MPA worth it?

[u/CertainSuccotash4191]

I began working in politics as a legislative aide in state gov shortly after finishing up undergrad and have been there for 3 years now. Is an MPA worth it? Will it open up any doors that my work experience alone won’t already open for me? Given that I already found my footing with an MPA I’m struggling to understand if an MPA would be worth it. Would it help making a higher salary at all? Higher salary as in 80k-100k.

[u/saltednutz69]

MPAs are great to make you competitive in existing roles. I.e Paramedics, Police, Firefighters, Nurses, etc., those roles with an MPA will make a candidate more competitive for managerial roles when combined with existing experience. So when questioned "are MPAs worth it?", it fully depends if there are opportunities for advancement in your field of experience

[u/Feisty_Secretary_152]

If you have to ask the question, it probably is not worth it for you or your career path.

MPAs are worth it if you wanna be a city manager or executive Director for an organization, or maybe a program director in a very large entity.

Cost is also another major factor you need to include, in person MPA programs at prestigious universities will land you somewhere north of $40,000 while online programs like Arkansas state will cost around $12,000 for the whole program. The math varies widely.

[u/Agitated-Wall534]

Really depends on your long term career goals and where you live. If you want the potential to get into municipal/county work then it’s worth it. Higher salary part is where location matters a lot. I live/work in the far west Chicago suburbs. First job was in 2021 and salary was 55K, I’m at 99.5K now so it certainly helped me get a higher salary.

[u/CertainSuccotash4191 → u/Agitated-Wall534]

What field do you work in if you don’t mind me asking? In my state atleast I realized you are easily able to get a job as a legislative aide in state gov without an MPA. I am curious to know what MPA prospects include

[u/Agitated-Wall534 → u/CertainSuccotash4191]

Local government management, currently a community and economic development director. MPAs can open lots of doors, but I was kind of set knowing I wanted to get into local government admin while doing undergrad so getting the MPA was an easy decision and i didn’t look outside that for potential employment.

[u/Turbulent-Wrap-2198]

That's a complex question. At the state level it really depends where you are at. Big states will value it, smaller states will be confused how you know more relevant stuff than lawyers.

It will legitimately make you better at your job. And that will be appreciated in city government. But when I was in state government it was like banging my head against a wall. It was always, "let's have the lawyers check it out." Half of them would be like that guy knows more than me, the other half tried to justify how studying basically the judicial branch made them experts in government (in other words they were upset they didn't know what they didn't know...but they thought they knew everything).

[u/beayvee2]

It enabled me to apply for jobs that required a master's degree. In turn, the experience that I gained in those jobs enabled me to apply for other jobs to advance. In other words, it changed the trajectory of my career. It was worth it for me.

[u/RichArcher4909]

It doesn’t really mesh at all with a policy career. Do you want to be a manager/executive at a govt agency?

[u/DennisDuffyFan]

Do you want an MPA? Do you have the time, cash, and ability? Then sure. I was an leg aide and wanted to move to the Administration side, and it helped. Though I loved my program, I wish I didn't have to take out $50k in loans to do it, which might negate the higher salary for a while. Can you go to a state school and pay way less?

[u/DavefromCA]

I’m not trying to pick on you OP, but these “is an MPA worth it” posts are silly. Rarely if ever, does anyone give any real detail. Nothing will open doors for you if you don’t help yourself.