If you have a passion for serving your community-at-large and/or influencing public policy, then you may want to consider pursuing a career in Public Administration. The career opportunities in the Public Administration field are wide-ranging because people entering this profession possess diverse knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to these diverse career-related assets, many companies are recruiting a diverse applicant pool from multi-cultural/racial and LGBTQIA communities.
When a company hires a diverse staff who collaborate on developing public programs/policies, the range of issues and concerns that are discussed are more likely to address the needs of underserved communities. A broader perspective contributes to comprehensive initiatives leading to multi-dimensional community development. “When companies recruit and retain a diverse pool of people, it brings about different benefits to the company as well as its employees… Diversity brings in different talents together, all of them working towards a common goal using different sets of skills… Another benefit of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increase in creativity among teams, and the ability to have a more diverse set of solutions to specific problems.” 6Q (https://inside.6q.io/benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace).
Individuals interested in the field of Public Administration may manage departments (people and resources), analyze information, oversee expenditures, implement public policy, and/or investigate criminal activity. Public administrators are generally stewards of the public interest. Also, some Public Administration job titles you may want to consider include government manager, legal assistant, consultant, program director, program/budget analyst, economist, foreign service officer, housing specialist, case manager, city planner, research associate, field examiner, state and national politician, public relations manager, community health educator, social service advocate, grant writer, etc.
If you are interested in exploring/researching the field of Public Administration, check out the Government, Public Administration, Law and Non-Profits career community on the UConn Center for Career Development website. On the career community webpage, you will discover examples of career professions, skills required, mentors you can contact, samples of internships/jobs, student clubs/professional organizations you can join, Vault industry guides and articles/blogs.
In addition, the University of Connecticut offers a Public Administration Master’s degree program from the Department of Public Policy. UConn graduates who have earned degrees in Public Administration have diverse careers in government and law, as well as the non-profit sector and business community. The University of Connecticut offers a Master of Public Administration degree. “The UConn Master of Public Administration (MPA) program provides students with the skills to excel in the field of public affairs. Our graduates are leaders in nonprofit organizations and in government at the national, state, and local levels…” -UConn Dept. of Public Policy
For more information about the Public Administration Master’s degree program at UConn, please view their website at https://dpp.uconn.edu/mpa/.
To discuss a Public Administration career with a career coach at the UConn Center for Career Development, please schedule a career appointment at Handshake.
