Reply to masters/post bacc in econ with no econ background

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. Thank you for all of the information!

DD is a second semester senior without a job - she is looking at all jobs in the political science and adjacent fields, and doesn’t know what she wants to do in the big picture as she really has no idea what options are in her field. I don’t think that is unusual, right? She hasn’t been exposed to any of that in her university, it’s an academic program. Her internship last summer was in state level politics and she didn’t enjoy it. Her job search is now focused on think tanks, research and government affairs positions, and the like- I suspect she doesn’t even quite know what those jobs entail (I don’t either) but you have to start somewhere and learn as you go.

This has come up because in the course of job hunting, there have been a number of positions or organizations that she thinks sound interesting, but the candidate qualifications often list a background in economics and she is just a political science major (with almost no economics or math classes). She is discouraged about that, and I respond to her not to count out thise jobs/careers but to think of ways to plug that gap in her resume. This led me to wonder if she could pursue a post-bacc or masters in economics. (Relatedly and for example, if she wants to pursue a phd in political science, she would not have any of the math required, but her advisor has suggested she could do a post-bacc or cerificate in applied math to plug that gap before applying to phd programs.)

I’ll be honest I don’t know what a masters in public policy entails and it sounds like”fluff” to me, but I am completely unknowledgeable in this field so I’ll suggest she consider that.

In any event her focus is now on getting a job- I just want her to know if she finds that the positions that hold most appeal to her require some econ background, whether she has paths for filling that gap in her skill set.

Thank you again from the OP. [/quote]

This additional context is helpful.

Your daughter isn’t screwed because of her degree, but she’s looking in the wrong places. Think tanks and research jobs are going to want math and econ because statistics and econometrics underpin empirical research. A person with a bachelor’s is going to be doing a lot of data work. There may be some in the international or development space that have more programmatic roles (Freedom House and Open Society come to mind) that don’t require quantitative skills for everything. But research analyst at Brookings or Peterson? Forget it, they want you to do the data work for them.

This is also a credential-heavy space. A master’s can be a minimum for many jobs. That’s why an MPP isn’t just “fluff” as you put it—it’s often the easiest way to get past the gatekeeping, and with better career links than many econ master programs.

There are tons of political science grads here and they aren’t getting jobs because of their quant record. Look at jobs on the Hill, trade associations, fellowships in the federal government for new grads (at least a few are hiring again). Some stuff may not sound like the coolest thing ever - that’s okay, you often just need a foot in the door and something to put on your resume at the beginning.

This type of work experience also usually helps boost an MPP or similar application. It looks like you posted a description from the Kennedy school’s program. Something like that might be tough with zero math or econ, but there are others. And as other commenters have said, there are programs for picking up math or econ credits. SAIS used to allow people to enroll in individual courses. Illinois used to have an online math certificate that covered everything up through advanced math (but you could get individual course credits). Search around.

[/quote]

OP, I am a former poly sci major, with a master's in public policy and a long career in government. The PP above has given you the most helpful advice on this thread. Your DD is not a candidate for the kinds of research/analytic roles she is looking at. But there are other jobs out there.

Tell us more about this state internship that she didn't like. What was she doing? What didn't she like about it?[/quote]

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