Anyone with a Master's in Public Administration?

May 24, 2007 10:41 AM

What kind of jobs are available to those with a Master's in Public Administration?

I am a senior at a high ranked public university in the U.S. and will be graduating in May with a political science and history degree. My grades are decent, but not spectactualr, 3.1. I am trying to keep my options open, but am looking at lower tier law schools and some entry level jobs in D.C. My mother is suggesting I look into a Master's in Pubic Administration. My ideal job would be to work for a corporation in a goverment relations department.

posted by bilbo baggins to Education (6 answers total)

Here's one way to research: do a google search for "resume" and "public administration". See what kind of jobs others list on their resumes.
posted by kdern at 10:54 AM on May 24, 2007

It's typically the credential of choice for city managers. I have a couple of friends who have spent their careers working as town managers and related positions, and it's clear from their conversation that anyone who wants to advance beyond the small town realm needs an MPA to do so.
posted by briank at 10:55 AM on May 24, 2007

Yay! I have an MPA and it's so rare for people to even know what it is, so it's cool to see a whole question about it. I work for the federal government as a program analyst. Friends that I graduated with work for various levels of government, others work for consulting firms and some work in public finance. I don't know anyone from my graduating class who does government relations for a private company, but it's such a broad degree that I think it could qualify you for that type of work. My email is in my profile if you'd like to know more about my experience at grad school and since I graduated. Good luck!
posted by lagreen at 11:10 AM on May 24, 2007

I use my MPA in the insurance industry. I do policy administration. I should have gone to law school, but I thought the debt load w/b too much. That was a mistake I'll openly admit to.

For Government Relations, you'll probably be better off pursuing marketing or communications. I still plan to make the jump back to the public sector, but the MPA doesn't open doors the way a good network does. I've gotten more interviews through friends than by applying for jobs.
posted by valentinepig at 11:13 AM on May 24, 2007

My dad has an MPA, but also a background in journalism, so he's primarily held jobs in government PR (director of communications for a major urban county, community relations director with a mid-sized school system).

According to the University of Georgia's MPA program description (NB: I attend UGA, but not for an MPA, but the MPA program is highly-ranked, so I assume this is a relatively accepted definition):

The MPA degree is designed to educate students for administrative, managerial, and policy analytical careers in federal, state, and local levels of government and the nonprofit sector. The program consists of courses that form a public management core, required management information and research courses, a socialization sequence, and electives. An internship usually served in a public agency is also required for students without administrative experience.

The MPA should prepare you well to work in government, and after you had some government experience, you would probably be well-qualified to work in gov. relations in the private sector. No idea if this is the most expeditious/advisable path to that career, though.
posted by SuperNova at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2007

I have a MPA and, right now, I work for county government, though not in a position that utilizes the MPA. Some day that will change....
Government, non-profit or health care administration is where most of my classmates ended up working.

I would think that the MPA would prepare you to work in private-sector government relations as well. Good luck.
posted by whatideserve at 3:07 PM on May 24, 2007