r/PublicPolicy • u/Inside_Foundation_14 • 1d ago
Career Advice Advertising to Policy Analyst Career Pivot
Hello!
I'm pretty new to my research heading into a possible policy analyst career pivot after being an ad sales assistant at a media publisher for the past couple of years now. TLDR – I've been wanting a job change for awhile now and never felt fully satisfied/fulfilled with going into a career in media sales or marketing (they both interested me but now that I've been in it, it just constantly feels like I'm doing nothing of substance).
I graduated with my bachelors in public policy/public affairs from a top state school and started working at my current job in the spring before I graduated. I've been contemplating with the idea of going back to school and there weren't many programs that seemed all that enticing to me (law just didn't seem like the right fit for me; an MBA felt like i would be paying to network; etc.) but now an MPP seems like it might be what I'm looking for.
My internships while I was in undergrad were very much focused on marketing/creative/PR roles in the entertainment/media and fashion industries – my roles were not closely related to my studies whatsoever because I was interested in pursuing something different than my academic interests at the time. I had one internship as part of my graduating requirements where I worked for a non-profit education org but was on the operations/business development side ... not a lot of policy background there either.
So I guess my long-winded question to all of you is if you've been in my shoes and feel the need to make a change from corporate to public policy/policy analysis ... how did you do it or what would you have done differently? I'm seriously considering MPP programs and applying to them next year (the turn around seems too abrupt for me to do right now) but wanted to see how others have tackled this. Policy analysis at a think tank seems like what I'm looking for – substantive, meaningful work that has real impacts on other people and our communities.
TYIA to anyone that read all of this
5
u/LevelMethod4483 1d ago
making the jump from sales to think tank work is jarring but not impossible, the ad background might actually help more than you think since policy shops need people who can package dry reports into something readable and compelling
just don't let the mpp be a 2 year pause on life, treat it like a demolition project for the corporate habits you built in media. the pivot makes sense but you gotta be ruthless about deprogramming the fluff, think tanks will smell a marketing brain from a mile away if you don't scrub it
3
u/Inside_Foundation_14 1d ago
Totally agree with having to get rid of all the corporate-isms that I got right now (and tbh, I don’t like any of it so hopefully I can get it out of my system relatively fast). I had to write a lot of mock policy memos throughout undergrad in most of my courses and feel like I have a pretty solid foundation on that front … do you think it’s worth including samples of my past writing in my application (if there’s a spot for me to include it that is)
2
u/Technical-Trip4337 1d ago
It would be nice if you could demonstrate some current interest in policy issues - any community involvement to discuss?
1
u/Inside_Foundation_14 1d ago
Not so much community involvement right now but I’ve personally been gaining more interest in tech/AI policy and I’ve been seeing first hand how it’s been impacting my industry right now and how we’re having to adapt across departments. I feel like that could be a point that I could mold my personal statement around about noticing that shift and me wanting to go back to schol
4
u/kait_au_lait 1d ago
I used an MPP to pivot careers. I think the important part is to be able to tell a coherent story when you're applying about what drew you to pursue an MPP and what you want to do with it.