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Yeah I'm with you, lots of digging to be done there. I've started connecting with friends who are pursuing MBAs with a public service orientation. Thanks for the tip

@GradSchoolGrad Thanks for the response your recommendation is definitely one of the pathways I'm considering. What do you think the likelihood of getting some funding is for an MPA or MBA program? My concern with these pathways is that I'm very likely going to make the same or less in terms of my income and will take on what I consider to be huge debt. For someone who has financial obligations and doesn't come from a background where their parents can foot the bill, I'm trying to figure out the most cost-effective way to make this pivot.

@woolscarves This thread has been very enlightening, thanks for answering all the questions so thoroughly. I'd like to share my situation and see if you have any perspective you can share. First, some context: I am a recently admitted student to the MSPPM-DA program with 6 years work experience and have no prior masters degree. I am also currently a Full-stack Data Scientist at a fortune 500 company and have been head-hunted several times for roles at the big tech companies that a lot of MSPPM-DA graduates go work at. Further, I have been consulting part-time with academia and public-sector institutions on solving data science problems that serve the greater public good. I see this program as a way to pivot and fast-track my path to a public-sector leadership role where I can lead the charge on building out full-stack data science capabilities for public service oriented organizations. My conundrum is identifying: (a) Do I benefit from a full-time masters program like this at all? (b) If so, is this the right type of program or should I be looking at a top-tier MPP/MBA I've listed out some pros and cons below. Pro's: - Access to work with professors like Rayid Ghani and Chris Goranson on data-centric public sector problems - Access to the school, alumni and professor network - Access to top tier advanced machine learning, management science, and policy analysis courses - Get a Master of Science degree in Analytics related field (a commonly desired trait in private sector) - Cheaper than Kennedy MPP level program, much cheaper than most full-time MBA programs Con's: - Currently growing and learning a lot, both at work and outside, will trade this for more structured learning if I attend - Opportunity cost of lost wages and cost of attendance (I have a partial scholarship but the cost is still not insignificant) - MBA/MPP might offer better outcomes/opportunities through network - Current student network seems to be less experienced and significantly earlier in their career vs. myself - An online or part-time masters program will be much cheaper (especially with company paying for most of it) This program definitely seems good at spring-boarding students who come from less experienced or non-technical backgrounds into great careers, particularly in the private sector. I'm talking to as many folks as I can to get some concrete perspective on if it has a high likelihood of doing the same for me.