Important Advice Needed: Please Read

[CipherTrigonal89]

So here's the situation. I apologize if something like this has already been answered elsewhere, or if I'm posting in the wrong forum, but I figure that I'd like to get this feedback rather directly. 

I'm strongly considering the MPP program at the McCourt School at Georgetown, as it'll allow me to work while I'm attending. And specifically, I'd like to specialize in something pertaining to environmental/energy policy, or failing that, something Sustainability-related. By way of background, I already have a degree/certificate in Sustainability from UCLA, so I already have some academic training/experience in both fields. 

The kicker here though is that I'm not getting any financial aid or scholarships otherwise from Georgetown at the moment, so if I choose to go, I'd be on my own. However, I do have enough savings lined up, and my parents are willing to help me to some extent to pay for tuition and keep my student loans to a minimum, so attending Georgetown isn't totally out of the picture just yet. That's also where working while attending the program factors in: by staying in my full-time job, I can at least defray expenses to some degree. 

So I guess that for the purposes of this question, you can divide it into two parts. For those of you who have either attended McCourt and/or have experience in environmental/energy policy:

1. Does Georgetown have good enough career services/connections so that I can reasonably find a good job after graduation?
2. More generally, I understand that with the renewable energy sector, it's on track and already becoming the fastest growing source of energy production in the US, but does this also translate into lucrative job opportunities for public policy graduates with specializations in those fields? Specifically, in that sense, I'm looking into working on cap-and-trade programs  and other climate change mitigation/adaptation programs in the public sector, and if we're about the private sector, I'd be interested in working for consulting firms. I can imagine that with climate change being as serious an issue as it is now, state and local governments would be quite willing to step up their efforts in dealing with climate change and consulting firms would be all the more willing to advise them on how to do so, respectively; this would hopefully translate into more jobs. Are these estimates at all realistic and/or plausible?

Since I'd be paying out of my own pocket to attend McCourt, and because loan forgiveness programs aren't what they appear to be at all, I just need to know, in short, whether this kind of investment would be worth the cost. If I do end up specializing in environmental/energy policy, is there a good chance that I can find a decent-paying job that can help me minimize any possible student loans as much as possible? And to be clear, it's not just about the career opportunities for me here; I do in fact enjoy studying those fields given my experience at UCLA studying them. 

Any constructive criticism, feedback, and responses would be greatly appreciated. 

Good luck!

[GradSchoolGrad]

8 hours ago, CipherTrigonal89 said:

So here's the situation. I apologize if something like this has already been answered elsewhere, or if I'm posting in the wrong forum, but I figure that I'd like to get this feedback rather directly. 

I'm strongly considering the MPP program at the McCourt School at Georgetown, as it'll allow me to work while I'm attending. And specifically, I'd like to specialize in something pertaining to environmental/energy policy, or failing that, something Sustainability-related. By way of background, I already have a degree/certificate in Sustainability from UCLA, so I already have some academic training/experience in both fields. 

The kicker here though is that I'm not getting any financial aid or scholarships otherwise from Georgetown at the moment, so if I choose to go, I'd be on my own. However, I do have enough savings lined up, and my parents are willing to help me to some extent to pay for tuition and keep my student loans to a minimum, so attending Georgetown isn't totally out of the picture just yet. That's also where working while attending the program factors in: by staying in my full-time job, I can at least defray expenses to some degree. 

So I guess that for the purposes of this question, you can divide it into two parts. For those of you who have either attended McCourt and/or have experience in environmental/energy policy:

1. Does Georgetown have good enough career services/connections so that I can reasonably find a good job after graduation?
2. More generally, I understand that with the renewable energy sector, it's on track and already becoming the fastest growing source of energy production in the US, but does this also translate into lucrative job opportunities for public policy graduates with specializations in those fields? Specifically, in that sense, I'm looking into working on cap-and-trade programs  and other climate change mitigation/adaptation programs in the public sector, and if we're about the private sector, I'd be interested in working for consulting firms. I can imagine that with climate change being as serious an issue as it is now, state and local governments would be quite willing to step up their efforts in dealing with climate change and consulting firms would be all the more willing to advise them on how to do so, respectively; this would hopefully translate into more jobs. Are these estimates at all realistic and/or plausible?

Since I'd be paying out of my own pocket to attend McCourt, and because loan forgiveness programs aren't what they appear to be at all, I just need to know, in short, whether this kind of investment would be worth the cost. If I do end up specializing in environmental/energy policy, is there a good chance that I can find a decent-paying job that can help me minimize any possible student loans as much as possible? And to be clear, it's not just about the career opportunities for me here; I do in fact enjoy studying those fields given my experience at UCLA studying them. 

Any constructive criticism, feedback, and responses would be greatly appreciated. 

Good luck!

Bottom line... I wouldn't do it if I were you. Georgetown McCourt has very weak career culture and its career services tries really hard + is filled with great people, but the school as a whole is poorly managed to support career goals. I was the only person on my project team to graduate with a job (this is during the boom times). 

I would not do the part-time program (that is the working while going to grad school) if I were you because that prevents you from exploring what policy opportunities you really like. I say this cause most of my friends did a pivot (small or big) in terms of the policy area they were interested in or focused more on a particular item. I absolutely 100% would not work full time while going to school full time. I know one person who did it, and his life was absolutely miserable and he didn't really get a career boost out of it (I think he is in the same job he started with). 

Feel free to set up google hangouts with me to chat.

[prokem]

I am interested in climate policy, and when I looked at McCourt I was very underwhelmed. They have more classes focused on energy than climate but still very limited. Sure, they have the Georgetown Climate Center which is great, but if you want to become a specialist in the area it's probably not the right place, given that they don't have specializations. If you look at their full time faculty by specialty you'll find none in energy policy, 2 in env econ, 1 in env law, and then those three plus one other in env policy. I've definitely run into a few McCourt grads in the environmental world but not too many compared to other programs.

In terms of careers, I would say an MPP in energy is not too lucrative, especially if you want to do public sector work. Even with consulting I don't think it's too lucrative because cities often work with philanthropic groups for advising on climate projects. Local government action is hit or miss. Some cities are doing lots, other not much at all. A lot of it depends on their resources, which are often limited. It's hard for them to appropriate millions and billions in their budgets for climate when they have other immediate and pressing issues. 

If you're really interested in the field though, then the lucrativeness of a job doesn't have to be your main priority! 

[prokem]

I think that I'll add one more thing: every school is going to be what you make of it. There is no question that you could go to McCourt and work in the energy field, dig up resources at Georgetown, get involved with professional groups in the area, and come out prepared for a meaningful career in energy. I only mean to say that it will be harder to do so and you will have less to work with than at a place like Duke, for example.