|
I'm a 30 year old guy going back to college for a degree in economics. I'm looking to work in public policy in some capacity when I get out, either as an academic researcher or in a think tank style consultancy. More likely I'll end up in some low tier government office spinning ideas that will never be implemented, but I can dream. I want to know what working in policy is like, and what I should be doing to prepare myself and if there are any idiosyncrasies to the field that I should know. My first choice would be educational policy, but I'm open to just about anything where I might be able to make a difference. To flesh out my background, I did six years as a technician in the Navy, but left last year to go back to college full time. I'm applying to a lot of high end schools for fall transfer, but I'm not certain what I'll get into. I'm a bit of an academic weirdo. I failed out of school the first time around nearly ten years ago when I thought I wanted to be an engineer, but I've been pulling a 3.6 GPA off my recent work. My SATs and ACTs are skyhigh and I've done math up to multivariable calculus (calc 3) and differential equations, although I'm not very math inclined. I decided early on I didn't want to be a quant and instead wanted to focus much more on microeconomic concepts and behavioral stuff. I firmly believe the best approach to policy is through a better understanding of people and the things they are likely to do, and how best to manipulate that towards a desirable goal. I'm probably going to minor in math or at least take a more mathematically inclined econ degree track, because while I'm not that good at it (this is why we have Matlab!) I believe at least as many mistakes are made by those ignorant of mathematical techniques as those who rely entirely too much on modelling. As a bonus question, my girlfriend is a PhD in neuroscience who is looking to transition from academia to policy, specifically educational policy. What routes are open to her, who should she talk with? What is the culture of policy like as compared to the culture of academia? Would it be easier or harder for her if she went faculty first? Basically anything that could help an academic break into policy would be useful. Edit: This was supposed to go in the Science and Academics subforum 
|
| # ? Jan 28, 2013 00:05 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2013 21:32 |
|
|
Not a Step posted:I'm a 30 year old guy going back to college for a degree in economics. I'm looking to work in public policy in some capacity when I get out, either as an academic researcher or in a think tank style consultancy. More likely I'll end up in some low tier government office spinning ideas that will never be implemented, but I can dream. I want to know what working in policy is like, and what I should be doing to prepare myself and if there are any idiosyncrasies to the field that I should know. My first choice would be educational policy, but I'm open to just about anything where I might be able to make a difference. I work in a Southeast Asian political think tank with pretty close ties to the Prime Minister's office (sorry, redacting for work and security reasons). I'm officially a researcher, but I do things ranging from speech writing to editing to analysis to electronic publishing to event management. (The org is really small, and I'm actually part of the permanent staff.) As an aside, I moonlight as an independent researcher and am doing a thing on stateless children. Most policy think tanks will have permanent staff including in-house researchers, with consulting academicians who they commission to write papers. As I deal with politics, we have to address and write about current events as they crop up, including disputes, invasions, insurgencies and so on. As a result, even staff not in the research department are required to keep up with the news. Certain staff members pick specific areas or countries to focus on. I'm also in charge of reading legal documents, and often have to dig out court rulings and bills to read and extract for analysis. Reading is the name of the game in any think tank. The second name of the game would be "roundtables", because you need a lot of interaction with other experts and academics in the field to keep abreast of all the issues going on. I myself had to attend a conference in the UK to be up to speed with UN resolutions on freedom of religion. My first piece of advice is: READ. To be in a think tank or any policy-related field, you need to know a lot, or you need to know people who know a lot, so that you can write. Because you have to write. A lot. You need access to databases like JSTOR or ebook directories because you have no idea what sorts of things may crop up. My second piece of advice is: Find a particular aspect in the field you enjoy (elearning or free education) and spend more time on it. Be well versed in it. Being able to specialise in a particular topic is something that will make you a better researcher and will help you be more marketable. It will also make work that more bearable, especially when office politics starts to get out of hand. A specialty will also reflect in your writing, which will win people over after they look at your CV. What else would you like to know? dorkery fucked around with this message at Apr 23, 2013 around 12:05 |
| # ? Apr 23, 2013 11:56 |
|
|
Hope OP doesn't mind if I jump in - this is also something I'm interested in. dorkery, how did you end up in your current position? What qualifications do you have? What part of your job do you enjoy the most? Thanks!
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2013 12:29 |
|
|
Sandpaper Wank posted:Hope OP doesn't mind if I jump in - this is also something I'm interested in.  I have a BSc in Political Science with a major-specific concentration in Cyberpolitics from an American uni. To be frank, I was really lucky to get the job I have right now, as I can tell you reliably that anything under a Masters degree = slave labour. I am actually currently building up my CV so I can apply for a Masters and subsequently a PhD in Cyberpolitics in the UK (in fact, procrastinating my research proposal by coming here :P). Originally, I applied for a bunch of positions at a number of research institutes and think tanks, but all offers were unpaid positions. Fortunately, this particular think tank I joined had been newly formed with a very small research team that comprised of two other fresh graduates from local unis and I managed to secure a permanent position immediately. Southeast Asian rhetoric and politics can get really dull, let me tell you. When religious freedom and civil liberty is not the on the government's plate, and you're technically working for the government, you have to learn to get over your own beliefs/principles and spin. As some kind of cruel joke, I was forced to write nearly all the organisation's literature and speeches on interfaith issues despite having the most liberal views on religious freedom in my office, whereas the literature had to be cautiously conservative at all costs (i.e. the state religion cannot be equal to minority religions). In that respect, the job can get downright aggravating (especially as it starts up shouting matches in my office in which everyone ends up ganging up on me - if you can handle that, you can generally handle working in politics). On the other hand, as all my formal political training came from the US, being able to work for a think tank that focused on Southeast Asia and SEA dynamics is an excellent way to not only pick up knowledge, but to also become more integrated with the region and its affairs. Especially when current affairs comes up and I have to dig up histories and legal documents (usually to present to the big boss in a readable format), I end up picking up a lot of info about, for instance, the South China Sea, the Jabidah massacre in the Philippines that led to the formation of the Moro National Liberation Front, the Aceh separationist movement, the plight of the Rohingya and so on. There's also a lot of fantastic gossip that you pick up on, especially when you get access to academics and experts who have a direct hand in a lot of these events attending events you organise. Which actually leads to my favourite part of my job: The people I get to talk to. My manager used to work in the Red Cross and he has a lot of literature, expertise and experience that he likes foisting off on me, especially when I get too pesky or curious. He also tries to give me careful hints about stuff non-RC people are not supposed to know (though he's actually excellent at non-disclosure, curses!) so I have a general idea of what goes on, as I've expressed interest in applying to work there. (BTW! The International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva is actually a pretty brilliant place to work! Especially if you're interested in policy!) This connection also led to my part-time job as an independent researcher, where I actually get to do proper field work and research that, if I may admit, is actually far more satisfying than my day job. Also, the guy in publications hooked us up and I got a non-academic article published in a magazine. Woo-hoo! 
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2013 14:20 |
|
|
Not a Step posted:As a bonus question, my girlfriend is a PhD in neuroscience who is looking to transition from academia to policy, specifically educational policy. What routes are open to her, who should she talk with? What is the culture of policy like as compared to the culture of academia? Would it be easier or harder for her if she went faculty first? Basically anything that could help an academic break into policy would be useful. Sorry, this completely flew past me! Actually, one of the best ways to transition into policy depends on what sort of policy you're interested in. If she's interested in conducting research to form the academic foundation of policy, then she's best served in a research institute, think tank or NGO. If she's interested in implementation, then government or field-specific NGO is the way to go. A good way to get a foot in the door is to publish (research or op-eds) and attend academic events sponsored by think tanks and related institutions - honestly, aside from content, for connections. Many events, like lectures and whatnot, are attended by other academics, experts in the field, government people, corporate people, and so on. Also, a lot of groups and research institutes do have open calls for submissions, or have non-permanent positions available for experts/scholars. A lot of people I know are simultaneously in academia and policy, with emphasis on academia (because the research they conduct as a professor doubles up and makes them more credible authorities/experts). If you check out the Carnegie Endowment Centre, for example, they pull in researchers and experts from everywhere, and those guys have day jobs.
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2013 14:40 |
|
