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Making the Most of a Full-time MPP Program

pinterecki — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:04:09 -0800

I recently accepted an offer for a spot in a full time MPP program from a very decent, non-Ivy school. My funding (per an assistantship or researcher position) reduces the total tuition to approximately $3000, and the program provides an allowance for an unpaid or poorly paid summer internship. I have enough money saved to avoid going into debt if I work part time. I want to offset the opportunity costs of two years outside of work by making myself as employable as possible. I do not have a stipend to cover costs of living, but I have sufficient savings to graduate without going into debt and a good chance of getting a relevant part time job as a project coordinator with a nearby nonprofit due to past professional experiences and networking. I'm currently looking for additional scholarships and finding very few geared towards MPPs (any advice would be appreciated).

I'm 27. My undergraduate major was English and my GPA was 3.2, which explains why I did not get a full ride and (I think) why it would not be a good idea to hold off in the hopes of a better offer. I spent a year teaching English in Korea and decided that it provided little in the way of stimulation or career prospects, so I left it with the knowledge that I could always come back to it.

I started working as an entry level payment analyst for a decent company. The pay (28K per year, not including overtime) urged me to apply for other jobs within the company and outside of it, but the results were negligible (a few interviews and a lot of no-responses). I started to take community college classes in statistics and economics using our company's tuition reimbursement plan, and also began volunteering with several community ESL groups as a process coordinator and program manager.

I did this to improve myself first, to further my career prospects second, and to help the community third. I wanted to emphasize that order because, although I'm very interested in programs and institutions slated to advance the standards of living for a wide demographic, I think it's also important to portray myself as a person interested in personal and professional advancement if I'm going to get useful answers.

I've researched the positions which interest me, but I'm not limiting myself to them because of what I assume will be intense competition for employment and the likelihood that I will encounter additional organizations fulfilling similar purposes. The MPP program is three hours outside of D.C., which is probably where I would like to end up, and makes trips to the city on Fridays for lectures, policy seminars and networking. With that said, the following employers appeal to me; with the exceptions of SIGTARP, specific NGOs and specific non-profits, my program has placed its graduates into jobs within these organizations:

U.S. Department of State: Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement or FSO (Economics Cone)
GAO
SIGTARP
The World Bank
Think Tanks focusing on anti-corruption measures (please suggest some)
Watchdog Groups focusing on anti-corruption measures (please suggest some)
The Open Society Institute or one of its associated programs (please suggest more)
Transparency International Secretariat or one of its associated programs (please suggest more)
The Mines Advisory Group or one of its associated programs (please suggest more)
Danish Church Aid, Amnesty International, and organizations like them (please suggest more)
D.C. Based Consulting Firms

As you can see, I'm shooting for the moon. Wait until you see my personal and academic goals below. At present, my primary goal is to narrow my focus and minimize my risk through advice from the community. With that said, please help me plan my academic and professional schedules so that

I will be able to:

1.Graduate near the top of my class with publications in hand
2.Network effectively to ensure interviews, internships, and job prospects
3.Select relevant courses emphasizing hard skills (statistics and statistics software, econometrics, modeling)
4.Continue to develop soft skills (leadership, program management, process coordination)

and I'd also like to:

1.Begin a mutual fund, money-market, or otherwise useful investment to complement my IRA
2.Learn to code in a useful language
3.Take a 3 sequence Calculus series, Linear Algebra, and Real Analysis classes (or something similar to improve the chances of a.) acceptance to MSc programs for Statistics or b.) passing actuarial exams.)
4.Earn a PMI or Six Sigma certification

and it would be nice to:

1.Improve my Flamenco
2.Advance from intermediate Spanish to working fluency and pick up another language
3.Continue to train for triathlons and MMA
4.Eat a lot of Indian and Thai food.

Still reading? Here are the minimum elective courses I would like to take aside from the required core module (please offer advice to round out potential gaps in skills):

1.Cross Section Econometrics.
2.Time Series Econometrics.
3.International Trade: Theory and Policy.
4.Forecasting Methods and Applications
5.International Trade Law
6.Operations Research: Deterministic Models
7.Operations Research: Stochastic Models

Final word: I've been thinking about this program for a long time, and I'm trying to do my best to prepare myself for a quantitative focus by re-learning calculus before matriculating. If you have any advice as to which additional community college courses I should take in the summer interim between now and starting the program (and the summer interim during my internship), I'm all ears. Please keep in mind that I'll be working full time.

It's difficult not to see this program as a second chance for a shot at a stable, stimulating career that pays more than $50k per year. Because of this, I worry that I may be avoiding acknowledgement of the opportunity costs incurred by enrolling- I'd like to hear that side of the argument as well.

Thanks in advance,

pintereski

Career ladder positions in the Federal system.

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:20:29 -0800

I am in a career ladder position in the Federal government. I'm approaching the end of my first year on the job. I have heard from colleagues/friends in government, that going up to the next GS-level in the ladder is almost automatic (requires sign-off from supervisor). Is this true? How do I request this increase from my supervisor? Also, can you help me find documents online which show that one is eligible to go up a grade after one year? To clarify, I am not talking about step increases, but grade increases. For example, if somebody is a GS-9 on a 9-11-12 ladder, I am under the impression that that person is eligible to go from a GS-9 to a GS-11 after a year (and then from GS-11 to GS-12 the year after that), assuming great/outstanding performance. I have many friends in Federal government, and for them it has all worked like this.

I am on a similar ladder, and my performance is outstanding. What paperwork or documentation do I bring my supervisor when I ask her to increase my GS level?

I normally would assume that this would just happen, but my agency is a bit odd about things sometimes and I will feel more comfortable approaching my supervisor about this with documentation that this is a thing.

Any other advice would also be great. I am super nervous about this whole process (and also do not want to fall into the "women are bad at asking for promotions" trap). This is important to me, and I would not have accepted this job 11 months ago without the assumption that I would go up a grade after a year. I'm concerned that some sort of red tape will prevent this from happening (internal politics are rampant at my organization!) and that I will have to start looking for a different job. I do not want to do that, because I love my job and my colleagues.

Can anyone advise me on remotely applying to OR state jobs?

bobbyno — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:46:39 -0800

Anyone have experience with remotely applying to jobs with the State of Oregon? Can it be done and how did you do it? Hello! I am working on applying for State jobs in Oregon. The complication is that I am currently in Illinois. The application system is quite nice and easy to use, but I am wondering what is ahead of me when the next steps happen.

Is there anyone out there in Meta land who has navigated this path?

I am ready and willing to head out there for a couple of days if I get a few interviews lined up, but I was wondering if phone interviews were out of the question.

If you have personal experience with state jobs in Oregon, I'd love to hear your experience/take on this!

Thank you!

Does playing poker count as job experience?

powerbumpkin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:58:37 -0800

How can a professional poker player turned college graduate transition into a "real" job? My little brother has paid his way through college at UT Austin by playing online poker. (!) He finished school in May with a Bachelor's degree in Government. His interests are primarily in the public and social service industries. Almost any nonprofit or government jobs could be of interest to him. He does have a particular interest in nutrition and health. (He was once quite obese and has lost a substantial amount of weight in college by cooking healthy stuff so I think that sparked it). Starting off though he'd be happy enough to get into the social or public service industry at all.

The problem is he has NO job experience other than poker! I'm sensing his growing frustration with the job search, and it doesn't help that he's never had a "job" before. I think at this point he'd do most anything that paid 10 dollars an hour.

What can he do to maximize his employability at this stage? Who's hiring in Austin?

Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:48:11 -0800

I'm filling in a background-check form for a US government job--Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions--and I'm confused. Help! I think this is less stringent than an actual security clearance, because I won't be working with secret information (but I'll be working in a secure building). The form is confusing, and there's no one to answer my questions, so I hope someone will know what to do!

1. I lived in the same place more than once in the last 5 years (eg. in college and at my parents' house). How should I list the dates? If I list them multiple times, must I list different people who knew me during each time I lived at the same place? (There's only space for one start date and one end date for each address.)

2. For some places I lived, I don't have the address of anyone I still know. (At the college I attended briefly and then left, I don't still know anyone, and they've all moved anyway.) Should I pretend I didn't live there, and stayed at my other address in the same city? (I'd like to avoid lying if possible; technically it's a felony.)

3. Will the investigators necessarily contact all the people on the form? (If so, why don't they want phone numbers?) Should I ask people's permission before listing them, in case they don't want to go through tedious questioning?

4. For times that I was in school, should I list myself as unemployed, or as a student with the school as my employer? (I have been unemployed both while in school and out of school.)

Also, if there's some other source of information that would help me, please let me know. (The Office of Personnel Management website certainly doesn't help.) Thanks!

Unfairly Fired by Feds

mbx — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:14:05 -0800

Need advice for friend wrongly dismissed by the federal government. I'm asking your assistance on behalf of a friend who was recently fired from their supervisory role with the federal government. Please excuse the blatant anonymity but this is kind of sensitive. I'll do my best to describe the situation. I know you are not my friend's lawyer but...

My friend quit a job to join the federal government almost 1 year ago, was highly successful in this new job, as measured by all relevant metrics, taking their team's performance rating to #1 in the country. This person had no problems with the people that worked directly for them and in fact motivated them to perform at a higher level and was appreciated for the leadership. However, in the course of performing their duties my friend began to receive negative push back from their boss, upon instigation from a counterpart employed in the same role, about being too aggressive in trying to receive better results, although this was the stated goal of department policy. My friend was just performing the job that they were hired to do to the best of their ability. After receiving this negative feedback my friend went to their supervisor's boss to discuss these issues and was assured discretion in expressing their opinions. This assurance was obviously violated and my friend was fired by their immediate supervisor without appeal or specification, in an obvious act of retribution, 2 days before the end of their 1 year probationary period. They were only told that there were issues with leadership.

My friend has documented and saved evidence of their success in this role, as well as, evidence of bias, violations of the whistle blowers act, and unequal treatment in the workplace.

This unwarranted dismissal from this position, in this highly specialized field, will have a severe ongoing negative impact in this person's employment opportunities within this field for years to come. Ultimately they would just like their job back but that is unlikely.

They would appreciate any advice from anyone who has experienced similar. Any recommendations regarding the best legal representation (names of law firms anywhere in the U.S. would help) for this type of case. Also what can this person be doing now to gather all personal information, as well as, more specific reasons for their dismissal that was not provided to them at the time of the firing? Finally any other advice would be appreciated.

Thank you for your help.

Employee Evaluations

CollectiveMind — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:08:42 -0800

I am writing an article about employment in the U.S. federal government. Where can I find information about what supervisors are allowed by law to tell other government agencies recruiters about their employees, and what they sometimes tell those recruiters that is against the law? A couple civil service employees have told me that when they were trying to move to another job within the government, they applied for lots of jobs through the government employment service but kept getting turned down for new jobs even though they got letters saying they were qualified for those jobs. There are lots of qualified people out there so it's probably not personal that these people didn't get the jobs. But they suspected employers with whom they had poor working relationships somehow went outside what they could say and sabotaged their changes to get another job. I want to know if this really happens or if it's just bad employee attitude or lots of other qualified employees.

GSA Contract...Help!

healthykindofsick — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:56:00 -0800

My boss has asked me to work on getting our company a contract with the U.S. government's General Services Administration (GSA). I have been doing some research and reading everything I can about it, but I think this may be too big of a job for just me. Does anyone have any experience with working on a contract like this or know of any good resources for help? Anything that any of you can offer would be great. Thanks!

Flat-out asking for a government contract during a cold call: feasible or terrible?

cranberrymonger — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:50:01 -0800

Flat-out asking for a government contract during a cold call: feasible or terrible? I have a BA and I'm considering taking a college course in Public Administration. (In Canada, college is one level down from university and tends to be more applicable to getting a job.) I spoke with a girl who took the program and now works as a policy analyst.

She told me that she got a placement with the Gov't of Ontario (required by the program) by cold-calling managers and asking them for a 5.5 month contract. She seemed to think I could do the same: just cold-calling them, conducting informational interviews and then.... ??????

Well, this is where I'm confused. How do you parlay a cold-call or an information interview into "Will you consider me for a 5.5 month contract?"

I'm worried that it will seem rude but she was quite confident and it worked for her.

Shouldn't there be a lengthy interview process? Is that just for permanent positions? Can this approach actually work? Had anyone had success or failure doing this?

Is it becoming the norm for people to work more than one (or even two) jobs just to stay afloat?

msposner — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:21:57 -0800

Is it becoming a more acceptable trend for individuals to work more than one job just to maintain a certain standard of living? I work three jobs (my wife also works full-time) and yet it seems as if we barely can keep ourselves afloat on a monthly basis. Help me from going crazy here! Background information: I work three jobs. Job number one is a state employee (CT) for a position that requires a master's degree (I actually will be finishing up my second one in a few months). Job number two is working as an independent contractor for a technology company (10-15 hours/week). Job number three is a teacher for an adult education program (5 hours/week).

My wife is a full-time teacher.

Together, we have little debt (<$5k) and we are hardly reckless with our spendings. Most of our purchases are related to the upkeep of our home and cars (2). We rarely eat out but we do have a house and all the associated bills. With me working all these hours, we've been able to be afloat in terms of our bills and expenses.

However, I am seeing more and more people, including colleagues in state employment looking for second (and sometimes, third) jobs just to "stay afloat." They too, claim that they don't have any really "out of the world" bills.

I am wondering what other people are experiencing, especially in the state of today's economy and whether this trend is related to the fact that I live in CT (a very, very expensive state) or if this is something we need to expect to become the norm just to maintain normal, decent standard of living.

Or it could be that I don't make enough money with my primary job ($50k/year)...

Any thoughts? Feedback? Insights? All would be greatly appreciated.

ad astra per aspera

phrontist — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:06:04 -0800

What's it like working for NASA these days? What will it be like in 5-10 years? I'm a sophomore in college (electrical engineering) thinking of working for NASA some time down the line. I'm fairly sure I know what to do to get there (I have friends who have done internships, I think have a fairly good idea what they value in recruiting), but I wonder what it's like to really work for them.

Do any MeFites work for NASA? Are there any good (candid) blogs out there by NASA employees? How do people inside feel about the agency's funding prospects in the future? How crazy is the government bureaucracy? What's the culture like? What are the strengths of the various locations?

Oh, and to be clear, I'm not an aspiring astronaut. Couldn't pay me enough to get strapped to a giant pillar of fuel to visit some specks near our own.

(Am I) good enough for government work?

nebulawindphone — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 07:52:02 -0800

Who writes all those pages and pages of text that the US government generates? More to the point, might someone pay me to write some of them? I know the official stuff is written by lawyers, but I'm wondering about unofficial government documents — all the handbooks, factsheets, brochures, instructions and guidelines. The government must pay a lot of people to research and write those documents. Who are they? Full-time employees? Contractors? Freelancers?

Are they paid well? (Are they paid better if they can get a security clearance, as I gather is often the case with government work?) How are they hired?

And most importantly, how might an ordinary guy with no government contacts — but a diploma and good writing skills — get in on some of that action?