Good Think Tanks/Government Consulting Firms?

[junebug62]

What are some good think tanks and government consulting firms that hire MPP/MPAs and MA IRs? Which firms are most respected/competitive? Is there a "McKinsey" of government consulting? Is there competition between non-Phds and professional degree holders for jobs, or a glass ceiling for non-Phds? Grads with quant and computer science skills also seem to be in demand, at least when I perused a few postings myself. For all the main prof. degree schools, which tend to place the most grads or highest percentage of the class in public sector consulting or think tanks? Clearly, I could google this but I'd like to know what posters here have to say and drum up a discussion.

A few that come to mind are Rand, Brookings, LMI, SAIC, Booz Allen...I also get the impression that the world of government consulting and government think tanks in the US isn't nearly as cutthroat competitive as private sector business consulting for hiring. Think tanks positions also seem to about who you know, or hire based on the reputation you already built as a high-level government figure.

[FB2009]

Deloitte also recruits MPP/MPA's heavily for their federal government sector, and Booz Allen also does (but they don't seem to recruit as heavily), LMI is also a good option.

Issue is: you need to go to a school that these firms recruit at. Most will NOT take entry level people from schools that they do not specifically recruit at under any circumstances, especially it tight times like this (both Booz and Deloitte are quite strict on this for example). So if you are really going for public sector consulting, check where the firms recruit at, and go to one of those schools.

Oh, and it is just as cut throat for hiring from what I've seen. You are up against MBA's for the same positions, and most places have a slight preference for MBA's... You need to target their federal practice as well, since you wont have a good shot at their private-sector side from what I've noticed in their hiring...

[nyr]

What are some good think tanks and government consulting firms that hire MPP/MPAs and MA IRs? Which firms are most respected/competitive? Is there a "McKinsey" of government consulting? Is there competition between non-Phds and professional degree holders for jobs, or a glass ceiling for non-Phds? Grads with quant and computer science skills also seem to be in demand, at least when I perused a few postings myself. For all the main prof. degree schools, which tend to place the most grads or highest percentage of the class in public sector consulting or think tanks? Clearly, I could google this but I'd like to know what posters here have to say and drum up a discussion.

A few that come to mind are Rand, Brookings, LMI, SAIC, Booz Allen...I also get the impression that the world of government consulting and government think tanks in the US isn't nearly as cutthroat competitive as private sector business consulting for hiring. Think tanks positions also seem to about who you know, or hire based on the reputation you already built as a high-level government figure.

I'm not sure about government consulting firms or public sector organizations, but for research-oriented think tanks such as Brookings or RAND, the people I've talked to (ie, career services at MPP schools) agree that they prefer PhD students over MPP students. They do hire masters students, but there isn't an upward track for them at these places. You may be able to work for a few years there, but you'll hit a glass ceiling eventually. Perhaps there are exceptions to this, but I think it makes sense because, if you look at the senior-level people working there, most -- if not all -- have PhD's.

Some other think tanks are Urban Institute, AEI, and Mathematica. Not sure how they rank, but just a few names to widen your net. (: