Do I lack the policy background for an MPP to make sense?

[Agriff]

I've been reading that the way an MPP makes sense financially and/or career-wise is in circumstances where grads are able to use it as leverage to the work experience they already had.

My situation is a bit different. I have a BA in Psychology, taught English in Korea for a year after college, and have spent the last 3 and a half years in social work jobs- mostly doing case management. I've been a mental health case manager and am currently working as a medical case manager at a community center for people living with HIV/AIDS. I have been in this field because I've been building experience with the eventual goal of becoming a licensed social worker and a therapist.

But after seeing the state of social services and "working in the trenches" so to speak, I've realized that I'm not so sure I want to be working on the individual level. Instead of helping people process trauma I want to be able to work on a macro level to influence the systems that cause trauma. Policy issues like access to mental health services, healthcare, affordable housing, etc. That's where my passion is pushing me. I would love to work for my state's DHS, or Dept of Health, or on a national level at HUD or HRSA.

My concern is that while I've been working directly with the systems I want to change on a policy level, I don't have any direct policy experience. And I'm hearing from all of these MPP grad applicants who've had internships or jobs on Capitol Hill, or working abroad at NGOs doing development work, or in other arenas that I have no access to. I've been pushing myself to get as much non-professional experience as possible: I volunteered for a city council campaign and now a state house rep campaign, I'm the chair of my neighborhood association and am leading a housing task force to address affordable housing in the area, I was appointed to my Dept of Health's Heath Equity and Advisory Leadership committee where I'll be advising the state on health policy, and I attend monthly Transgender Equity Council meetings for my city (even though I'm not on the council). But it all seems like small beans compared to the stuff that would make a difference in the career options I have.

Was my original understanding of an MPP degree correct in thinking that it could give me the kind of traction I need to gain a foothold into the policy world? Or am I setting myself up to waste a lot of money on tuition only to have essentially the same set of career options that I do now?

[Damis]

I will say this.

"Policy" is a multifaceted concept whose definition ebbs and flows as one moves within different spheres - local vs. federal, business vs. public, education vs. workforce development. I have yet to come across a policy program that looks for a cookie cutter set of experiences. How you interact with policy is going to be different from the next person. My experiences are totally different from yours, but I would count you as a policy expert. There is no checkbox. Where you have worked or interned is, imho, inconsequential if you didn't do a damn thing. Folks pad their resumes and CVs with empty, nonsensical, "jobs/internships" all the time. I've seen it.

Instead, these programs look for folks who are impassioned by something. The more "elite" institutions seem to want a bit of demonstrated experience within said area, but I wouldn't even say that it, in and of itself, is a requirement nor does it have to be direct. You could be an education advocate, for instance, who has waged war with State Legislators over the past few years. There's no direct job title nor salary attached to that, but you have to be motivated by something fierce to willingly fight that fight. You're definitely best served by having a reason for wanting to study policy in-depth, such as wanting to help folks or to improve a system. I think a lot of times, however, folks look at the CV of another person and think, "Well, I don't have X experience." when the end all be all should center around what in the heck a person did/accomplished. I regularly interact with folks from "big" jobs and institutions, and while many of them are smart and good people...many often aren't doing a damn thing to help a damn soul. They're a bureaucrat/paper pusher. They're trying to keep their job. Maybe they went to school at an "elite" school, but I'm certainly not seeing the purported dynamism of those institutions in my work. Not trying to disparage anyone. The system is a beast. I understand.

I wrote all of that to say this, I think you not only have direct policy experience, but I think your background translates in a much more profound way than many of the folks interning on Capitol Hill or even working abroad would ever be able to touch upon. The key will be in articulating how important your work is. I encourage you to effectively demonstrate that you belong in the spaces you want to be within and how you'll make a difference. Figure out how to straddle the fence between speaking on the granular, individual components of your work, and the overarching goals you'd want to manifest were you given the reigns. Show the person who will eventually read your essays that you not only belong within policy, but that policy needs your presence. Present a compelling profile and you'll go quite far, regardless of your background.

Hope that helps! Go for it!

[SerenityNow!]

@Damis is completely right - your "in the trenches" experience is worth a lot more than you are framing it as. It sounds like you will be able to paint a very comprehensive picture of your interest in public policy and public health, its your day job, you volunteer around it, and even have leadership positions! All these little things add up to a good story that will help you get admitted and more importantly this will help you get a job when you graduate because you actually have experience in your desired field.

In your essays I think you can intelligently talk about where you hope to work, the exact type of work you want to do, the system you want to improve etc... instead of just saying "I love public health" and "I want to help people." These are both great sentiments and maybe ones you share but that is about all half of the incoming public health folks could say where I earned my MPA. There were a few who had past job experiences working in the healthcare field and they knew exactly what they wanted to do, where able to pick their classes with more purpose, and ultimately had better job outcomes because they came in with a game plan. E.g. if you are curious about mental health program outcomes then you can make sure you are taking courses like public program evaluation, benefit cost, econometrics etc...

Those "hill" internships seem SO cool right now and I completely get it - I felt the same way when I was applying. I had only ever worked with local government and also felt like I might not be able to have a compelling case for my admission. However, I got in everywhere I applied and even had professors remember my essay because it wasn't the typical MPA app essay.

[datik]

If I read your post correctly your concern is not so much wheter or not you will be able to get in, but rather if it will actually be useful for your professional life.

And the answer to that is: It depends.

 

As stated above, the term policy is very foggy and could mean a bunch of different things. Do you have a clear idea of what you want to do? Do you have institutions in mind where you would like to work?

The thing is that for working in government, multilateral institutitons or NGOs, an MPP could actually be a useful thing to have. However, it won't guarantee by itself a sucessful career. You need to have at least a defined direction while you are doing the program, maybe looking at internship opportunities, or learning as much as you can about the field you are interested in.

What I would advise against is coming to these programs with a vague notion that you want to be in "policy" (whatever that means) and just flowing with the wind, hoping to catch a cool job whenever you finish your degree, by some cosmic coincidence.

[ExponentialDecay]

Lots of social workers get MPPs. You'll be fine.

I second considering what this degree would do for your career (and how you could get a similar effect in other ways - which may be cheaper or more efficient).