Does anyone work or have worked with this firm? I see on LinkedIn that they have an Entry-level Staff Consultant position posted but it has been there for over a month and I am wondering if they are actually hiring? I am wondering this firm a good place to start a consulting career pathway?

Hey everyone, I got an MPA three years ago and i currently hold a job in the Federal government. I’m trying to find policy analyst jobs, but I have absolutely no experience besides grad school.
I have the good old question of how can I get experience but these jobs won’t hire me because I don’t have experience? Even junior analysts require a lot.
Any hints on where I can step into and get the needed experience?

I just started a job as a Policy Analyst at a state agency about 2 months ago. I was formerly a Project Manager (in the same field of work as this agency). I am used to managing concrete projects that have schedules, deadlines and tangible work products. In my new role I feel like I'm not "producing" anything. So far I've been in a lot of meetings, had a lot of conversations, documented the dozens of internal policy initiatives, and begun work on one report. I know I have good ideas to contribute and some of my suggestions have already gone into practice. But I still feel like I'm not doing anything.

So I'm curious, if you're a Policy Analyst, what does your day to day look like and how do you define being productive?

Hey all,

I am applying for masters programs for the first time and am currently filling out the application for the MPP program at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy.

I’m at the “academic interest” portion where it’s asking me to fill out a couple short essay questions, but the application itself and the application guidelines provided by GraSPP do not give any details for how these essay questions are supposed to be answered.

In particular there’s one section labeled “Study Plan” (limited to 200 words) and I have no idea what is supposed to go there. Am I supposed to actually go through the course catalogue and name all the individual electives I’m interested in, or am I just giving an overhead view of what I would like to focus my research on?

Maybe I’m reading too much into this because I’m an American and have some notions about the rigidness of academic admissions in Japan, but I feel like I’m not supposed to just free write my answers to any of these questions and should be following a format, but I can’t actually find where said format is located.

Any advise or insight is appreciated.

Every time I scroll through these threads, there’s one piece of advice I wish I could scream through the screen: Once you earn your bachelor’s degree, start building your resume and gaining real-world experience!
Get involved in a campaign, build relationships with candidates and their staff, and look for opportunities to work in their offices. Be the person who always shows up, smiles, offers to help, and treats everyone with respect. Trust me, people notice, and those relationships can open doors you never expected.
My advice? Work for five years before pursuing your master’s degree. A graduate degree can absolutely increase your earning potential and opportunities for advancement, but it isn’t necessarily what gets your foot in the door. Experience and connections will often take you further early in your career.
I’m getting ready to pursue my own master’s degree, but I’ve already held positions in legislative affairs, policy analysis, and constituent services across both the legislative and executive branches of state government.
I cannot emphasize this enough: Start building your career before pursuing another degree. Your education matters, but the experience you gain and the relationships you build along the way are invaluable.

My bachelor’s is in public health, and I’ve worked as a mental health tech for the past four years alongside LCSW providers. I’m considering an MSW/MPP dual degree, with a macro focus for the MSW. I’m interested in what both degrees teach. I value social work’s focus on people, communities, barriers to services, and how systems affect people’s lives. I also want the policy analysis and evaluation skills an MPP offers, particularly for healthcare policy. I can afford both degrees, so financing isn’t my concern. I’m trying to understand how useful the combination would be in practice and whether employers recognize what each background brings. I’ve heard that finding macro or policy jobs with an MSW can be difficult.

For people with both degrees, or those working in healthcare policy:
Do you use both perspectives in your work?
Has having both degrees opened opportunities that one alone wouldn’t have?
How do policy employers view an MSW alongside an MPP?
Has maintaining social work licensure been useful in your policy career?
What would you recommend prioritizing in coursework and field placements?

I’d appreciate honest experiences about the strengths and limitations of this combination.

Wild week!

I’m doing my capstone for my Master of Public Policy (MPP).

My thesis focused on using machine learning to predict shortages and long wait times at military treatment facilities (MTFs). I was inspired to do this after noticing it takes people 2-3 months to see a provider.

I was telling one of my civilian colleagues about it, and he brought my name up to one of the budgeting analysts.

She reached out to ask for my help! She wants to build a pipeline that can show wait times/access to care across my entire installation.

The goal is to use that analysis to support a funding request to the government and justify hiring more providers.

We built it today! We still need to look at everything, but it works!