Jobs you've gotten with an MPP in between PhD application cycles?

[zh_awk]

I applied to PhD programs this year for my second cycle in a row, but I’m about to be 31 and am currently after a job in academia which I know is insanely competitive. I’ve wanted to work as a professor in my field literally since I was 15, but I’m facing 2 rejections and 2 waitlists so far, so I’m not feeling very confident I’m going to be accepted anywhere (applied to primarily joint sociology/public policy degrees, and one education program).

I’ve worked as a researcher for the past 10 years (6 years at my current job) and am trying to think of jobs to think about applying to while I wait to get the rest of my application decisions. I’ll be wrapping up my Master’s in Public Policy this spring and then really wanna get out of my current position which I have very much outgrown - have been underpaid and overqualified in this role for a couple of years now. If this cycle goes poorly and I don't get accepted to any PhD programs, I may just give up at this point. I feel sad thinking about that, but I simply don't know if I can afford (mentally or financially) to keep trying to get a doctoral degree in the face of so much failure. That being said, I'd like to consider applying to jobs I'll not only be qualified for with my MPP, but could be in for the long-term/have chances for moving up the ladder at.

For others who have MPP degrees and work in research, what do you do and how much do you make? I’m in the education field if that helps, and I very much love studying education policy, but am open to other areas. Educational inequities are a big interest of mine.

Thanks in advance!

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 2/21/2023 at 11:33 AM, zh_awk said:

I applied to PhD programs this year for my second cycle in a row, but I’m about to be 31 and am currently after a job in academia which I know is insanely competitive. I’ve wanted to work as a professor in my field literally since I was 15, but I’m facing 2 rejections and 2 waitlists so far, so I’m not feeling very confident I’m going to be accepted anywhere (applied to primarily joint sociology/public policy degrees, and one education program).

I’ve worked as a researcher for the past 10 years (6 years at my current job) and am trying to think of jobs to think about applying to while I wait to get the rest of my application decisions. I’ll be wrapping up my Master’s in Public Policy this spring and then really wanna get out of my current position which I have very much outgrown - have been underpaid and overqualified in this role for a couple of years now. If this cycle goes poorly and I don't get accepted to any PhD programs, I may just give up at this point. I feel sad thinking about that, but I simply don't know if I can afford (mentally or financially) to keep trying to get a doctoral degree in the face of so much failure. That being said, I'd like to consider applying to jobs I'll not only be qualified for with my MPP, but could be in for the long-term/have chances for moving up the ladder at.

For others who have MPP degrees and work in research, what do you do and how much do you make? I’m in the education field if that helps, and I very much love studying education policy, but am open to other areas. Educational inequities are a big interest of mine.

Thanks in advance!

As for MPP careers with Educational inequalities - eek... that is like the most focused upon specialty area. You'll be competing with PhDs, Undergrads, Public Health Masters, MBAs, and other MPPs.

If you are in it for the money, I recommend you get a civil service job in a high tax base location. Honestly, everyone I know who does that has had an amazing experience. However, since the education space is in such oversupply, I hope you have a unique angle to this (e.g., Administration management, financial distribution, union management, CTE development, and etc.).

2nd to that you can try to work for a skills development private sector or public-private partnership org. I just hope you are okay with the party line

If you are want to do further research, I recommend you be a research assistant at a research institute. I hope you have a strong quant background, which is the easiest way to do so. If you don't, you can do qual... but it will essentially be program management. However, it could be a good base to develop new or niche perspectives.

You can try to work for a non-profit, but then this is a vast pool of craziness in terms of range of experiences and you want to pick wisely.