Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:46     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:Is it too late for him to apply to PMF, presidential management fellow? Google.

Sorry but he likely needs to intern. Some internships pay now, at least minimum wage.

I hope you are not paying for extras for him and that you are not doing his laundry etc.


Yes we are covering all his expenses, car, healthcare and sometimes even his laundry. Both his father and I have drive. What a spoiled lazy egghead it appears we’ve raised
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:43     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
You can’t online masters your way out of entry level work.

Go volunteer on either a presidential campaign or one of the big campaign committees (DNC/RNC/the state party). Usually the January volunteers are picked up for paid jobs quickly. If the candidate wins, they will find him a job. If the candidate loses, he can find a job on the Hill or in a non-profit/trade association.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:33     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Is it too late for him to apply to PMF, presidential management fellow? Google.

Sorry but he likely needs to intern. Some internships pay now, at least minimum wage.

I hope you are not paying for extras for him and that you are not doing his laundry etc.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:31     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
I was a full time nanny for 2 years out of college and did a volunteer position with an organization in my target field on nights and weekends until I met enough people and networked my way into a job.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:31     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If he doesn’t have super relevant experience and little or no internships while in school, his first job out of school may be a little bit lower on the pay scale and will start to give him the experience he needs. 220 applications with nothing to show for it means something is not tracking. Some kids who are good at stats and coding can get entry level analyst jobs. But they have to be willing to put the time and hours into it. May not seem glamourous, or what they did a Masters for, but it’s the way to start building.


Unless he can come in as an intern, he's not getting a job in the federal government with no actual skills. Any generalist position is going to a veteran.


Yep. If he's applying to fed jobs right now with no experience, he should stop wasting his time. I assume he's applied to contractor positions? Interning with a contractor or getting onboard at entry level is doable.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:31     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.


He doesn't seem able to. Seriously. Book smart but very little drive.


This is why he can't get a job! No one wants to hire someone with this profile!


I get that. Thanks, but he does need to find paid work because he can't live in my house rent free indefinitely.

Right, but if he can't find a job in his field, what other job has he tried to apply for? He needs a job to pay his way.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:29     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.


He doesn't seem able to. Seriously. Book smart but very little drive.


This is why he can't get a job! No one wants to hire someone with this profile!

+1 It probably comes across during interviews.

I think it's fine for a parent to give advice and general guidance, but ultimately, the adult child needs to take action.

Did he think that a masters from a some top school would easily get his foot in the door?

I went to a no name state u and don't have a masters, but I got an internship (paid) during my junior year in college through the career office. It wasn't an exciting or interesting job, but it got my foot in the door, and I gained some experience all while being paid. They eventually offered me a FT after graduation, which I took. I come from a lower income immigrant background, and I could not rely on my parents to support me, so I took whatever job that had the highest pay that was offered to me (I had a couple of offers).

I have one DC in college, freshman, and they have already started going to internship fairs and landed an interview. I stressed the importance of internships to DC starting in HS.

My nephew never got an internship while they were in college; never did any kind of research, or even a PT job (always had some excuse), and they had a really really hard time finding a job after graduation. It took several years to find something, and the pay was very low.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:28     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.


He doesn't seem able to. Seriously. Book smart but very little drive.


This is why he can't get a job! No one wants to hire someone with this profile!


I get that. Thanks, but he does need to find paid work because he can't live in my house rent free indefinitely.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:26     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.[/quote

For how many months do I need to continue to support him while he figures it out?


Zero! I moved out as a teenager and paid all my bills immediately, put myself through undergrad and graduate school (the latter as a single parent).

Believe me, he’ll be fine!
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:26     Subject: Re:My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:https://sps.northwestern.edu/master/public-policy/index

Your son earned an online degree from the School of Professional Studies at Northwestern University ?

Typically, online part-time degrees like this are taken by working professionals who want to advance in their current job or industry. Your son needs some work experience. Holders of a degree in public policy usually work for a government agency or at a non-profit. Without any relevant work experience, your son may want to submit resumes to major law firms to work as a paralegal for two years. Base is usually in the 50s, but overtime--especially in litigation--can result in pay over $100,000.

Many universities offer degrees through professional studies divisions. These are primarily cash cow programs for the universities including schools such as Harvard & Columbia. The gist is that securing a job is almost entirely on the student.


Yes SPS but in person, not remote. Thank you. He should have gone to Maxwell at Syracuse, darn it.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:25     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.


He doesn't seem able to. Seriously. Book smart but very little drive.


I would drop the rope. He either needs to find his own drive or not. You’ve done your duty. He’s a grown up with degrees, plural. Let him figure it out.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:24     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:Northwestern is a great school for networking with alumni.

I'm saying this kindly, but how does he have a masters with no relevant work experience or internships? What did he do during the summers throughout his 6 years of undergrad and grad school? Did he forge relationships with any professors or alumni that he can reach out to for mentorship or a research assistantship maybe to get something on his resume.


His mentor from undergrad is retired/has dementia now. In the summers he largely didn't do office work, rather did service industry type stuff. In 2019, the summer between sophomore and junior years, he did an internship for 30 hours a week for college credit for a city manager. The summer before he graduated, pandemic summer 2020, he worked 20 hours a week entirely remotely for a congressional campaign. After graduation, he taught for 3 weeks at a for profit school in an inner city. Then waited tables for 6 months, finally got a 100% remote analytics job for 6 months, then went to Northwestern and finished in 4 straight academic quarters.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:19     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.[/quote

For how many months do I need to continue to support him while he figures it out?
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:18     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mom/dad, please let your grown child figure this out.


He doesn't seem able to. Seriously. Book smart but very little drive.


This is why he can't get a job! No one wants to hire someone with this profile!
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2023 12:18     Subject: My kid has a master's in public administration but is unemployed
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???
[/quote,,]

substitute school teacher.


Thanks I suggested that.