Guidance Sorely Needed (long)

[tibor]

Hi there,

I need advice. I'm thinking about pursuing a sociology phd with an emphasis on policy applications and need to sound out some experts - !

first - why i'm thinking about this. I currently work at a non-profit that provides the broadest possible range of services to the city's poor. I work in the agency's planning and strategy department, and in this capacity, i am removed from the day-to-day operations of our organization. we're very large, over $100m, and we serve over 125,000 people every year.

the problem for me is that i feel we're fatally flawed, and i'll never be able to make the difference that i want to, either for the agency (to become more effective) or for our clients (through improving the agency 1. b/c i can't move up in it, for any number of reasons, one of which is racial - i'm white, and further, privileged and have been told that's working against me, and 2. b/c i'm on the strategy side, not implementation side, and get guff from those who actually are on the ground.)

a city kid born-and-bred, my passion lies in increasing opportunities for and the lives of america's disadvataged, particularly urban minorities. i'm particularly interested in the experiences and outlook of young black men in our cities. i have no idea why this interests me - it simply does. i admit i'm first driven to this work because poverty is the problem we've been unable to solve - so it's an intellectual puzzle, and one laden with emotion. the fact that helping others is the right thing is a second, albeit a close second.

as for my background - i went to an ivy league school and studied history, then immediately to LSE for an MSC in government. i received both degrees with honors. but as things stand now, i feel that i need something else to maximize my ability to affect change. i don't know if i should spend the rest of my career researching, publishing and teaching (not crazy about the teaching, to be honest) - i think perhaps a phd would give me the freedom to go to washington and work either in government or a policy institute.

i've not read theory, but I'm pretty nerdy. I love crunching numbers and writing papers. I'm also 31, so i might be much older than my compatriots... i like chicago, and michigan, but haven't been thrilled by harvard or other schools. Please just let me know what you think. be honest - am i barking up the wrong tree? might a jd suffice? can research affect lives? do i belong in a MPP program? I'd be so grateful by feedback - of the positive and negative, and get-out-of-town variety! i may well be back to talk about specific programs and people - but for now, i'm testing the waters.

thanks, and all best,

tibor

[Politicalgeek]

OK, whew, lots of interesting stuff here. Some thoughts (from a Harvard MPP not working in social policy):

- If you want to work in Washington, you "have the freedom" to do so right now. Many people get good jobs there with Masters or even BAs, and DC loves Ivy degrees. The combo of LSE and your work background will make you marketable. I'm not currently working in DC (been there, done that) but lots of my friends are, so feel free to PM me if you want to get into specifics.

- That said, IME there are not many jobs in DC that are solely research - most people also end up doing things like lobbying, managing coalition partners, media work, supervising staff or just boring admin work. You will also probably have to work at a very fast pace. The biggest difference I've noticed between the policy/advocacy world and academia is that, while academics take a long view, digging down into one topic and figuring out long-term implications, policy advocates operate in the context of what's happening right now, which means you could be working on 6-7 different issues in any given year (or month!). Both are obviously very important - academic research feeds and informs policy, while policy advocates use that research to try to make some sort of change.

- I didn't personally do much poverty or urban policy stuff at Harvard, but from what I've seen, I wouldn't necessarily overlook it. There are a lot of people doing really interesting work in these areas there. Not just at HKS, but at the Ed School, in the law school and in several of the social sciences departments.

Anyway, it sounds like you're in a similar boat as me - we're also the same age! I've been doing work in the field since I graduated and I love the rough and tumble-ness of it, and getting things done all the time, but I'm also at the point where I want to step back and dig into some research into the things I'm really passionate about. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions or just want to commiserate!

[spaulding]

I have an MPP in a top school school and am working towards a phd in sociology.....

Sounds like you should look at either joint programs with a school of policy (princeton and michigan come to mind) and/or apply to schools with a strong public policy programs and/or scholars who work with gov agencies.