My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed

[Anonymous]

Just because he has that degree doesn’t mean he has to use it. Did he like teaching? If so, maybe he should pursue that. Teaching can be a good life for a couple of years while he builds skills and confidence.

Have him look at higher Ed jobs dot com and see if anything peaks his interest. Might be a good option.

Also work with him on interview skills and presentation.

What he needs is that first foot in a door and build from there.

[Anonymous]

Entry level state or county government

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. Many of these careers start out as internships or fellows in local government. I assume he has pursued that?

He can't afford an internship, and he's 24, not a kid.

I am trying to help you. Another pp said the same thing about internships/fellowships. That is how many start out, at 24 or even older.

I was going to say the same. I have hired many masters/post masters interns in my field (public health) and can assure you that many of them are 24 or even slightly older.

My DS got a non-profit job after almost two years of Masters. He was 28. Had to work for almost nothing for another couple of years and then got a $60K job. Now he is at around $150K job after 6 years. He stayed home with us and we paid for everything for several years. I am glad that he is settled now. Married and HHI of $240K, homeowner and parent.

Of course

[Anonymous]

If he wants to work for the federal government he should go to usajobs.com and look for the students or recent grads positions. Lots of the jobs for budget or management analysts are looking for candidates with a recent masters in public policy and start with a low salary but you move up the ladder fairly quickly with annual promotions.

[Anonymous]

What he needs to do is to get out there and start networking.

I met a recent grad at my former colleague's party. He graduated with a degree in public administration from JMU (I think) and was still jobless six months after graduation. He sent me his resume and I forwarded it to my DW who is an SES in the federal government. DW asked one of the government contractors to hire the young man as a Project Manager and he got paid 90K/year. He is currently studying for his PMP certification and will get paid around 130K once he passes the PMP. OP's son needs to "network" 100 times harder than someone who has a STEM degree. Best of luck to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Foot in the door
https://careerhq.asaecenter.org/jobs/19498655/membership-assistant

NP here… highly recommend looking into associations! ASAE FTW!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Foot in the door
https://careerhq.asaecenter.org/jobs/19498655/membership-assistant

NP here… highly recommend looking into associations! ASAE FTW!

Thanks to all who posted, very much appreciated

[Anonymous]

This one is open to the public

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/767192000

The key is to apply for "Promotion Potential" GS13 or higher, but he can accept at lower grade when applying.
If he accepts G11, the following year he will jump to GS12, then GS13 if he meets the annual performance review which most folks do. So each year he will get a 20% increase until he reaches the Promotion Potential grade then each year after that it'll be steps increase plus the annual standard adjustment from steps 1 to 10.

Here is the new pay table for GS grades

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2024/DCB.pdf

[Anonymous]

I had a post-grad take an internship with me. I hired her 6 months later.

[Anonymous]

Labor organizer for a union
Get certified to teach
Math or sat tutor

Take certification courses online in coding or in cybersecurity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's been almost 4 months, 220 job applications, a dozen interviews, no offers. I'm starting to panic. What's a good interim job for him so he doesn't become depressed and can start earning some experience and money???

Sounds a lot like me. I don't have a masters in public administration but i have a BA and I've been out of works for eight months. Five interviews, zero offers, and I'm not optimistic about this changing anytime soon. Wish I was wrong.

The longest I had previously gone unemployed in my post college life was 3 months. This sucks.

[Anonymous]

https://careerhq.asaecenter.org/jobs/19438966/government-affairs-public-policy-position-junior-level

This one looks perfect, OP.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't he be applying to any open government job and then use his degree later to get a leadership position? Getting a degree in administration with no experience isn't going to cut it these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's been almost 4 months, 220 job applications, a dozen interviews, no offers. I'm starting to panic. What's a good interim job for him so he doesn't become depressed and can start earning some experience and money???

Did your kid have internships while in college and grad school? He needs to work those connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's been almost 4 months, 220 job applications, a dozen interviews, no offers. I'm starting to panic. What's a good interim job for him so he doesn't become depressed and can start earning some experience and money???

Sounds a lot like me. I don't have a masters in public administration but i have a BA and I've been out of works for eight months. Five interviews, zero offers, and I'm not optimistic about this changing anytime soon. Wish I was wrong.

The longest I had previously gone unemployed in my post college life was 3 months. This sucks.

This is unnerving. I know kids who are either graduating with the same degree this spring or going on for master’s degree, but they seem to have great government internships now, so I didn’t think there would be issues. Are the issues related to seeking non-federal or non-state positions?