MPP, MA in Applied Econ, or Work Experience. Any advice?

[gradblues]

I am looking for any advice! I have recently been accepted to several mid-tier MPP programs with some, but it is not a substantial amount of funding. I would need to borrow about 30k in loans. Just today though Urbana-Champaign offered me a full ride to their Agricultural and Applied Economics Master's program. I also just received a contracted position at an NGO as a communications consultant. I don't know which option is best for me. I am interested in working for international organizations in a research/ managerial role, though I am starting to really like policy and program communications. Below are some of my concerns about the UIUC program and grad school in general:

 

• I am not interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in the future

• I want to work in an international organization or large nonprofit in a policy/research related role. I think I can be a research analyst, but I'm definitely more interested in the policy/ operation side of projects. I would like to do less econ research and more applied research on how to improve public projects (in the country or abroad).

• I am not entirely sure what field I want to work in within policy, but most of my experience this far has been working in Africa

• I am not really interested in agriculture

• I don't have a strong research background. I have a BA in econ, but since graduating, most of my roles have been in policy research and communications related to international development

• I am unsure of the job prospects with a UIUC degree if I want to work in DC or abroad compared to the MPP degree at American University or UCSD

• I am scared of the jobs prospects under a Trump presidency

 

Any advice?

[ExponentialDecay]

If by international organizations you mean international government, you'll need a network in that field, primarily. It's very non-trivial to get in if you don't know anyone (being a minority helps, but the competition is still significant). If you want to work with agriculture (which is not a bad specialization for someone looking for the career you want), that seems like an alright master's degree, particularly since it's free. If you don't want to work in agriculture, applied economics is certainly a good skillset and agricultural data and applications are a good field to practice on. Prestige helps, as with anything, but it's not the kind of field where you should take out 150k for the prestige. An MPP degree from American is good if you want to work in DC, but abroad ~nobody has heard of American; I have never met an MPP grad from UCSD in DC or abroad and have never heard anyone say that it is a good program. Finally, if you want to work in research in a large organization, I'm sorry, but you will not achieve that without a PhD. You can be a research analyst at some small-change NGO, but that's a completely different conversation.

[gradblues]

16 hours ago, ExponentialDecay said:

If by international organizations you mean international government, you'll need a network in that field, primarily. It's very non-trivial to get in if you don't know anyone (being a minority helps, but the competition is still significant). If you want to work with agriculture (which is not a bad specialization for someone looking for the career you want), that seems like an alright master's degree, particularly since it's free. If you don't want to work in agriculture, applied economics is certainly a good skillset and agricultural data and applications are a good field to practice on. Prestige helps, as with anything, but it's not the kind of field where you should take out 150k for the prestige. An MPP degree from American is good if you want to work in DC, but abroad ~nobody has heard of American; I have never met an MPP grad from UCSD in DC or abroad and have never heard anyone say that it is a good program. Finally, if you want to work in research in a large organization, I'm sorry, but you will not achieve that without a PhD. You can be a research analyst at some small-change NGO, but that's a completely different conversation.

 

Hey, thank you. I'm not looking to do research at all. I would love to have research skills but I am more interested in project management and policy. The applied research skills I am interested in gaining is more so to evaluate projects and performance and implementation. I am currently working in the field now for over a year, but in a rather remote part of Africa, that I don't have much opportunity to network, and though my organization is well-known in the US, it is not as well-known abroad.  

By international organization, I mean like organizations such as Oxfam, UN agencies, ODI, Red Cross, Marie Stopes etc. I haven't decided which field specifically in international development I want to pursue. 

[mapiau]

On 2/15/2017 at 8:48 AM, ExponentialDecay said:

 I have never met an MPP grad from UCSD in DC or abroad and have never heard anyone say that it is a good program.

UCSD's MPP program is brand new (their first class graduates next year), so that's why you've never met a grad or heard about it. To the OP, the quality of the faculty and teaching in the MPP program seems high (I'm at the school, but not in the MPP), but I have nothing to compare it to and the program's lack of a network and and name recognition is certainly worth keeping in mind. UCSD GPS emphasizes quant skills in their development-related courses but also has no Africa focus at all, if that's a region you're interested in.

[The Art of Applying]

On 2/14/2017 at 9:34 PM, gradblues said:

I am looking for any advice! I have recently been accepted to several mid-tier MPP programs with some, but it is not a substantial amount of funding. I would need to borrow about 30k in loans. Just today though Urbana-Champaign offered me a full ride to their Agricultural and Applied Economics Master's program. I also just received a contracted position at an NGO as a communications consultant. I don't know which option is best for me. I am interested in working for international organizations in a research/ managerial role, though I am starting to really like policy and program communications. Below are some of my concerns about the UIUC program and grad school in general:

 

• I am not interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in the future

• I want to work in an international organization or large nonprofit in a policy/research related role. I think I can be a research analyst, but I'm definitely more interested in the policy/ operation side of projects. I would like to do less econ research and more applied research on how to improve public projects (in the country or abroad).

• I am not entirely sure what field I want to work in within policy, but most of my experience this far has been working in Africa

• I am not really interested in agriculture

• I don't have a strong research background. I have a BA in econ, but since graduating, most of my roles have been in policy research and communications related to international development

• I am unsure of the job prospects with a UIUC degree if I want to work in DC or abroad compared to the MPP degree at American University or UCSD

• I am scared of the jobs prospects under a Trump presidency

 

Any advice?

 

So @gradblues it sounds like you have a lot of concerns all wrapped up together! I'm going to try to untangle it a little. 

What it sounds like: You are interested in working in a large international organization like FHI 360 or maybe RTI International. (Mathematica and NORC are good orgs that do a lot of domestic research.) It also sounds like you're not enthusiastic about UIUC, and don't want to do agriculture, even though you're not sure what else you want to do. 

Some thoughts: I agree with @ExponentialDecay that you probably want a good network to work in an international organization, and it's much more likely that American University will get you there. It's all about how many alums have graduated, where they're working, and whether they had a good enough experience to help you out. Since they're all over DC, I bet you can use your two years to explore orgs and get a foot in the door in the orgs you're interested in. But I strongly disagree that you need a PhD to do research in a large org. I have had many friends who work mid-level in the kinds of organizations I mentioned above as research managers and senior analysts, etc. I suggest you check out the bios of people who sound like they're doing cool work at cool organizations, and see what kind of career paths they've had to confirm what I'm saying. Now if you work for a few years, and get to be sure that you want to do research, a PhD will probably help you smooth the way. But if you decide you want to work in program communications or something, a PhD might actually hinder you because you may be seen as too specialized/ too academic.

What I would suggest: Wait for the rest of your acceptances, and then use your full-ride offer from UIUC to request more financial aid from American or any other university you're seriously considering attending. This process is called a financial aid appeal. 30K is NOT a gigantic or excessive amount to take out in loans. The rule of thumb is no more debt than your first year's salary afterwards, so 30K is well under that. So if you can get that down to like 10 or 20, even better. It doesn't sound like you're going to have fun at UIUC and get where you want to be, and life is really too short to get a degree that isn't going to help you, so don't take that just because of the money. If you only vaguely know the policy area you want to study, you won't be alone in graduate school. I had many classmates who felt that way. It's a good time to explore more policy areas or just gain generalist skills like quant analysis, evaluation, etc. As a last resort option, only if you're strongly undecided about going into policy at all, I would say go with the job offer that you have, take time to figure things out and understand where you want to go, study more for the GRE, and apply again with a stronger candidacy next year. Good luck!

--
Connie, Admissions Consultant for The Art of Applying
Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, MPP'2016
--

[gradblues]

On 2/19/2017 at 6:14 PM, mapiau said:

UCSD's MPP program is brand new (their first class graduates next year), so that's why you've never met a grad or heard about it. To the OP, the quality of the faculty and teaching in the MPP program seems high (I'm at the school, but not in the MPP), but I have nothing to compare it to and the program's lack of a network and and name recognition is certainly worth keeping in mind. UCSD GPS emphasizes quant skills in their development-related courses but also has no Africa focus at all, if that's a region you're interested in.

 

@mapiau What do you think of UCSD's career services? I was looking their student internships, and I see that people are getting really amazing opportunities working for IPA, UNHCR, Foreign Policy Research Institute, and so much more. I also see that they have specialized career counselors based on the type of work opportunities. Have you had any direct experience with them?  Do you think UCSD lacks DC connections? I know it is not the MIA program, but it seems like the MPP program has very similar classes.  

[mapiau]

19 hours ago, gradblues said:

@mapiau What do you think of UCSD's career services? I was looking their student internships, and I see that people are getting really amazing opportunities working for IPA, UNHCR, Foreign Policy Research Institute, and so much more. I also see that they have specialized career counselors based on the type of work opportunities. Have you had any direct experience with them?  Do you think UCSD lacks DC connections? I know it is not the MIA program, but it seems like the MPP program has very similar classes.  

I think the UCSD GPS career services is one of the strongest parts of the program. There are three full-time career advisors, with one focusing on the energy, environment, and corporate social responsibility spheres, another the rest of the private sector, and the other the public sector. At the start of the program the advisors host a dedicated career 'boot camp' that covers basics like resumes and cover letters—it's kind of redundant if you've worked before, but is very useful for people straight out of college and foreign students less familiar with US culture and norms. Students can usually have a 30-minute meeting with an advisors on a few days notice, and they're happy to review and revise cover letters or other application materials. I don't have anything to directly compare GPS' career services to, but from what I've read on this forum this level of responsiveness and advisor-to-student ratio is rare in other programs.

Of course GPS puts this level of emphasis on their career services department in order to offset the relative weakness of their alumni network. The network is smaller than other schools (the first graduating class was roughly 25 years ago or so) and is definitely concentrated on the West Coast. That said according to Linkedin there's around 200 alumni in DC (and not everyone has a Linkedin profile, especially older and more senior alumni), and the career services department has hosted DC-focused alumni events where DC alumni visit the school for panel discussions. Career services hosts trips to DC and NY every spring break where students can meet alumni and visit potential employers, but students have to pay for these trips themselves, which is of course not cheap.

One of the most useful pieces of advice I heard when applying to grad school is to choose a school where you want to build your network, and while attending GPS doesn't limit you to careers on the West Coast the network is certainly stronger there.

[gradblues]

On 2/21/2017 at 6:43 AM, The Art of Applying said:

So @gradblues it sounds like you have a lot of concerns all wrapped up together! I'm going to try to untangle it a little. 

What it sounds like: You are interested in working in a large international organization like FHI 360 or maybe RTI International. (Mathematica and NORC are good orgs that do a lot of domestic research.) It also sounds like you're not enthusiastic about UIUC, and don't want to do agriculture, even though you're not sure what else you want to do. 

Some thoughts: I agree with @ExponentialDecay that you probably want a good network to work in an international organization, and it's much more likely that American University will get you there. It's all about how many alums have graduated, where they're working, and whether they had a good enough experience to help you out. Since they're all over DC, I bet you can use your two years to explore orgs and get a foot in the door in the orgs you're interested in. But I strongly disagree that you need a PhD to do research in a large org. I have had many friends who work mid-level in the kinds of organizations I mentioned above as research managers and senior analysts, etc. I suggest you check out the bios of people who sound like they're doing cool work at cool organizations, and see what kind of career paths they've had to confirm what I'm saying. Now if you work for a few years, and get to be sure that you want to do research, a PhD will probably help you smooth the way. But if you decide you want to work in program communications or something, a PhD might actually hinder you because you may be seen as too specialized/ too academic.

What I would suggest: Wait for the rest of your acceptances, and then use your full-ride offer from UIUC to request more financial aid from American or any other university you're seriously considering attending. This process is called a financial aid appeal. 30K is NOT a gigantic or excessive amount to take out in loans. The rule of thumb is no more debt than your first year's salary afterwards, so 30K is well under that. So if you can get that down to like 10 or 20, even better. It doesn't sound like you're going to have fun at UIUC and get where you want to be, and life is really too short to get a degree that isn't going to help you, so don't take that just because of the money. If you only vaguely know the policy area you want to study, you won't be alone in graduate school. I had many classmates who felt that way. It's a good time to explore more policy areas or just gain generalist skills like quant analysis, evaluation, etc. As a last resort option, only if you're strongly undecided about going into policy at all, I would say go with the job offer that you have, take time to figure things out and understand where you want to go, study more for the GRE, and apply again with a stronger candidacy next year. Good luck!

--
Connie, Admissions Consultant for The Art of Applying
Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, MPP'2016
--

 

 

@TheArtofApplying Thank you for the advice! I think you also commented on my "Am I competitive" post as well.  

I was able to obtain a 3-month contract for the position, which I will take up and make the decision for grad school when the time comes in mid-April.  I know everyone says to go to school where you want to live, the problem is that I probably want to live outside of the country, so does location of the school matter in this case? Is it worth the debt? I have been accepted to the University of Minnesota, American University, the University of Washington for their MPP programs and Illinois for their Ag and Applied Econ program.  According to Linkedin not many of them are working abroad. 

And how does the financial aid appeal work? Would I show to American University for example (who only offered 20k of merit aid for the two years) that I have been accepted with a larger sum of money? The University of Washington reduced my tuition by almost half, plus a monthly stipend.  

 

 

Edited February 24, 2017 by gradblues