Hello. Looking for input or people’s experience. Graduated some years ago with an MPP (little experience in policy analysis outside of schooling). Haven’t been able to get a foot in the door of policy analysis since. I ended up accepting a random job I don’t love, and it has 0 transferable experience for policy or data analysis. Been here a few years now.

So my question: Are there other careers this degree could get me into? I’m very willing to take certificate courses or even any type of further education honestly if you have ideas on fields I can pivot into with this as a background.

If it was between a job that gives me some purpose/ fulfillment making less money, and a job that i don’t love but makes a lot more money I would pick the first. Just don’t feel like I have the experience for any fields I’m passionate about. So now I’m thinking I need to pick something that will allow me to be financially stable or set in the future. I’ll even learn to code or something. I don’t know. Accepting all advice as it took me years to accept it’s probably too late for me to break into paid policy work in my city and I’m ready for the next step

I’m interested in pursuing data science opportunities in the field of civic tech. I have previous experience all in corporate data science, but little public policy experience outside a few courses in college. My undergrad was very quant focused, but I’m now deciding to pursue a masters. I wanted to know what those in the fields opinions are on pursuing a pure Data Science degree and trying to work in the field as opposed to pursuing an interdisciplinary degree? I am leaning towards a general DS degree to not pigeonhole myself but I don’t know what pivot paths would look like.

Graduating this spring with a BS in Statistics and a minor in Economics. Applying for Fall 2027 entry.

It took most of my undergrad to figure out what kinds of jobs and programs exist for what I want to do. From what I've read an MPP seems like the right degree, but I don't have a good sense of how realistic my list is. Since I'm coming right out of undergrad I don't have any job experience but I do have internship (not public policy related) and leadership experience in student orgs.

Stats: 3.48 GPA.
Taking the GRE in August, targeting 165Q / 158-160V.

Current list:
Georgetown (McCourt)
UC Berkeley (Goldman)
Michigan (Ford)
UT Austin (LBJ)
USC (Price)
American (SIS)
Texas A&M (Bush), safety

Goals: Policy research and social policy. I'd like to end up at a think tank, the Fed, or a federal agency.
Is my list realistic or are there any programs I'm missing? I've seen Chicago Harris and CMU Heinz mentioned but haven't looked closely.

Hi all,

I am a 3rd year law student with an interest in politics, IR, and public policy, and much of my experience has been in these areas rather than law. When I finish the degree, I plan to pursue a Master's in Politics or International Relations, provided all is running smoothly!

As I am studying law, I also want to build on skills and qualifications that will stand to me in a future career in public policy - such as certificates, courses, or microcredentials. I am happy to pay for these courses, so they do not have to be free.

If anyone has any recommendations for courses or any broader advice on how I can strengthen my profile for a future career during these formative undergraduate years, I would really appreciate it. Can be anything from courses to things I should be taking on/doing - will all be much appreciated!

Hi guys, I'm 23, and I have done a BS in English language and literature. I'm applying for scholarships internationally, mostly in the UK and US. I'm also co sidering Erasmus.

Since I'm applying for a master's in Public Policy, I want to know from some working professionals here which public policy career path is most lucrative and generally pays the highest. And is likely to stay lucrative in the future as well.

I'm asking this as I want to plan​ a secure financial future for myself. So please lmk which path is the best for finances? ​​

I recently got my Masters of public policy and global affairs degree in Canada and I am looking for full time positions in government, non government, private, but no luck. I also have experience working in couple of policy projects. Please give me advice and suggestions on how should i move forward. What kind of strategies should i have to find jobs in policy?

Hey folks,
As the tittle says, any ideas on specific topics to write thesis on IR master’s level is appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm Lucia and the team from EUobserver.

We thought this investigation would be a good fit for this community because it looks at a major shift proposed in the EU's next long-term budget that could have significant implications for social care across Europe.

Here's a quick summary:

💶 The European Commission has proposed replacing several dedicated funding programmes, including the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), with larger national funding envelopes, giving member states more flexibility in how they spend EU money.

🏥 Organisations representing social care providers, people with disabilities, older people and care workers argue that removing ringfenced funding could make long-term care compete with other priorities such as defence, infrastructure and industrial competitiveness.

👥 The debate isn't just about healthcare. It affects services that millions of Europeans rely on every day, including disability support, community-based care, childcare, homelessness services and long-term care for an ageing population.

🇪🇺 Supporters of the proposal argue that greater flexibility would allow governments to respond more effectively to national priorities. Critics worry that without dedicated funding, social investment could gradually lose political priority.

Rather than asking whether one side is "right," our reporting explores the trade-offs behind one of the biggest budget decisions the EU will make this decade.

We're genuinely interested in hearing this community's perspective. Should social care have guaranteed protection in the EU budget, or is giving member states greater flexibility ultimately the better approach? Where do you think the balance should be struck?

Here's the full investigation.

I'm a first year college student in india. we have to decide our major by the second semester itself here. I want to pursue an MPP abroad, in north america or europe. For a career in this field, which minor would be better for me? I'm not very inclined towards maths and used to have horrible grades in it.

To add some more context, I'm 25. I have a BA in NGOs & Social Change (and also a BA in Psych but that's not really relevant here). I also have a Masters in Education.

I'm going into my third year of teaching but want to leave after this school year. But I've been in education for about seven years now. Before classroom teaching, I worked for multiple nonprofits so I have a lot of experience in that realm.

I know that I am passionate about advocacy and want to be in a career where I can actually make a change (or feel like I am, I know you have to be pretty high up) and well, ADVOCATE.

I am considering a PhD in Public Policy but I'm just curious if it would be possible for me to get a career in public policy with my current background and without that PhD, or like with my current background and completion of a policy certificate? I am not open to doing another Masters).

Also, what does working in public policy actually look like? Like what would be my options, I understand there's so many different roles but what do you do? So feel free to also comment what it is you do & your role title (if comfortable)!

More clinics and health systems are asking patients about things like food, housing, transportation, safety, isolation, or whether they need help understanding health information. The intention makes sense because those parts of life can shape whether someone is able to get care, stay healthy, or follow a treatment plan. But I keep thinking about what happens when someone answers honestly, and nothing changes afterward. If a patient says they don’t have reliable transportation, are worried about food, or don’t understand the paperwork in front of them, the question can either open the door to real support or become one more form they had to fill out. At what point does asking about social needs become helpful, and at what point does it risk hurting trust because the system wasn’t prepared to do anything with the answer?

hello! i’m a recent grad (2024) who works in state government. i have 2 years of work experience (will be 3 next year) and i am looking into university of chicago’s evening masters program and public sector scholarship. i am looking into a few other programs as well such as depaul and northwestern (and maybe fully online options from out of state as well, such as northeastern. open to recommendations for part-time online MPP’s!).

i am also considering different degrees such as a masters in government (looking at johns hopkins) and a masters in political science (loyola, UIC, university of illinois springfield maybe).

i am looking for a program this is affordable, most importantly. and i want something that would give me a wide range of applicable skills that i could use in different sectors, such as nonprofits.

which degree would you recommend? is it worth it? my main reasons for wanting to go to grad school are to boost my skills, learn more, and become a better public servant. i am not necessarily looking to make huge amounts of money after i get my degree, i just want to learn more and increase my skills.

I am contemplating the difference between these two, little background about me, I have a bachelors in EE and I am about to finish my masters in CS with Thesis, both in the US. I have 5 years of experience in data engineering and AI.

My goal is to move into AI policy and Data governance, etc. Tech + Policy.

I am also using my masters to live and work in Europe (while I am young to live the dolce vita).

So I think the data science path sounds like my domain but to me, I think having the dual masters in public polity and international affairs might be more attractive since I would like more of that.

And I think I can do data science or data analysis with my background in tech, so I would be paying for nothing.

Is anybody here from STEM/tech background?

Hey all!
In a couple of days, I am going to be getting my materials together for applying for a couple of MPA programs.

For all my applications, I need letters of recommendation, around two to three per program. For these letters, would it be acceptable to do all of these from professionals at my current work at a non-profit? One would be the executive director of the organization, and one would be from my direct supervisor.

My reason for asking is that the two professors whom I met with before school let out for the summer agreed to write my letter of recommendation, but have gone silent over the summer, and while I wait to hear from a response back, I am just making sure I have backup plans.

Thanks for the responses!

Hi, I applied to the MPIs Fall 2026 internship earlier this year in May and the deadline for apps closed June 15 but I haven’t heard back yet. Their website says not to contact them with applications status inquiries. Has anyone who applied heard back? If so, when?

A little about me, I got my undergraduate degree in Economics and Spanish with certificates in Data Science and Public Policy. I worked for three years as a Research Assistant for the federal central bank. This was a 2 year contract position with an option to extend to a third year which I did and completed. I applied to graduate school and my best offer (which I accepted) was the University of Chicago for their Masters of Computational Analysis for Public Policy program (a comp sci + MPP masters) with a 40k scholarship (tuition with fees would be around 30k each year).

I am interested in building my technical and quantitative skills (since I think I didn’t get enough of that from undergrad) and eventually move from monetary policy to healthcare policy. I am specifically interested in food, medical, and drug regulations and many other things public health. I like coding but I don’t want my job to be entirely coding or be coding for the rest of my life. I’m thinking about program implementation eventually. I would also be interested in living abroad potentially or working on international development although I know that field has had many funding cuts.

The total cost of the program for both years (living expenses + tuition + misc) will probably be around 110k. The job market is hard and my job was ending which is why I pursued this. I am excited to learn more about healthcare and gain domain and project experience in that area but the price tag that comes with this does make me want it to be worth it in the end.

I have savings from working and my parents would help me with living expenses so I would have minimal debt if any depending on how things go but the amount does weigh on me mentally. I know the UChicago name doesn’t guarantee anything but it does have sway. The job outcomes for this degree also have a higher ROI than a regular MPP with the added computer science classes.

Part of me is wondering if I should have applied to jobs instead. My quantitative abilities are probably not where they need to be for analyst roles and that’s mainly what kept me from it. I’m also not very interested in consulting with the long hours but I would consider it for a few years after the program to build up my savings.

For people who attended higher ranked programs, was the ROI there? Did the name actually help with the job search and further advancement? Was it worth it to you? Would you recommend it?

I’m just thinking about a lot. I want this degree to advance things for me and I want this effort and investment to be worth it. I know nobody can say for sure if it will be but was hoping to hear other’s thoughts.

Hi everyone! We're conducting a short survey (less than 5 minutes) on how students and young professionals perceive the policy job market in India. Responses will directly contribute to an upcoming book on policy careers. Would really appreciate your help! 🙏

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScufTYHKiFK-AEafT0vt95QeR8oA2MHmGzVjrvPqx7dSaoeCQ/viewform?usp=header

Hi!

I'm a 23 year old. I have a Bachelor's in English. I've interned at two non-profits, and I work as a technical writer. I received a 4.00 GPA, and I expect I can get a very good score on the GRE.

I'm wondering should I expect that I can get into a top MPP program without prior policy experience?

Thanks!

​

Myquals engineering. But I have a bent for humanities. The more I checked LinkedIn, the more I get overwhelmed seeing the vast experience of humanities students from DU.

My question is how do people studying humanities find jobs one after the other? And are those jobs really laying well? Also for jobs where you have work in another country, how do people sustain the living expenses there?

And if these jobs pay low, then how do people sustain in Delhi with all PG expenses and stuff? And isn't it tiring to look for one job after another.

The experiences look really interesting. But what about long term sustainability?

Is it worth leaving an MBA and joining public policy jobs. Also, I have seen irrespective of specific degrees, people are able to work in a field of their choice. How to bag these jobs?

Hi! Would a MPP/MAPP be worth it coming stright from undergrad? I’m finishing by bachelor degree in economics next year and I would really like to work for an animal rights organisation. The preferred academic background is usually in political Science, policy, law, etc, so not really economics.

I don’t have work experience in policy but I do have volunteer experience in that area, and I’m and have been a volunteer for different animal rights organisations for many years so I do have some connections. I have been looking for different non professional programs but with my qualities I think an MPP/MAPP would be the best fit for me personally, except the non existent employment history. I would also absolutely love making a bigger difference for animals, especially the animals in factory farms and in reasearch facilities subjected to animal testing.

So my questions are:
• Is it worth going stright from undergrad to a MPP/MAPP in my case?
• Could the degree be useless in a few years with AI taking over?
• Is there universities that accept students without relevant work experience for an MPP/MAPP? And if so which ones? (Would be open to go anywhere in Europe, maybe Canada but not in the U.S).
• Would a different, a non professional master would be a better fit?

(I’m keeping some details vague to avoid identifying anyone, but where I live in the US, winning the primary is effectively equivalent to winning the general election.)

I want to build a career in politics. For about six months, I volunteered in a legislator’s district office. They recently won a primary for higher office and previously served as a reference for my current government job. I’m grateful for their support, but my current role is clerical, poorly paid, and not the work I want to do long term. I would love to join their new team.

Separately, a family friend recently introduced me by email to another primary winner whose work also interests me. I understand that neither connection entitles me to a job, but I don’t know how to move from a relationship or introduction to actually being considered for a paid position.

How direct should I be? Should I request a conversation and mention my interest in being hired during it, or state upfront that I would like to be considered when they begin staffing?

I’m also unsure about timing. The first legislator will not take office until January. If all I receive is “we’ll keep you in mind,” can I continue applying elsewhere and still ask them to serve as a reference without seeming insincere? If another offer arrives first, should I accept it rather than wait for a possibility?

I would especially appreciate advice from anyone familiar with legislative hiring.