I got my MPA from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2010. I now work as a writer and entrepreneur. I write relationship advice books for women and I run an admissions consulting company (psst…you’re looking at it!). While my career is very off the beaten path for an MPA or MPP, I find myself using the skills I learned in policy school on a regular basis. I’ll give you a quick list of the ways I use my degree from HKS and then a long list of jobs of Harvard MPP alumni.

Some Ways I Use my HKS Degree:

• Communication: The course Arts of Communication taught me to deliver a compelling speech in 4 minutes or less. When I make videos for my company, I force myself to keep them within this 4-min limit and I often run them by the top student that was in that class with me to see what he thinks. I also use what I learned in this class about writing op-eds when writing guest posts as well.
• Public Narrative: In this course, I was taught how to craft and deliver my personal story to motivate others toward a common purpose. We learned the “Why me?” “Why us?” “Why now?” model of personal storytelling and I actually use that exact model to help convince people that I am the best admissions consultant in the business at getting nontraditionals into top business and policy schools.
• Financial and Reporting Control for Nonprofits: This accounting class was focused on nonprofits but it taught me all the ways I could get caught up with faulty and fraudulent practices and the importance of having internal controls.
• Followership: In this course, we learned the importance of looking beyond good leadership to learn what it means to be a good follower. We learned about the power followers have to support and build up leaders as well as tear them down and destroy them. I use what I learned in this class every day as I try to build up a base of raving fans for my business–and my writing!

The types of jobs you can get with an MPP or other similar degree from a top policy school:

Note: These jobs are for MPPs anywhere from 0-15 years out of school. Since professional school always has a focus on both the short-term and the long-term benefits to your career, I included job titles with a mix of years of work experience.

These are real people from my LinkedIn network.

• Economist at The World Bank
• Global Cybersecurity Practice Lead at Good Harbor Consulting
• Project Manager at Ethiopian Global Initiative
• Economist at International Monetary Fund
• Policy Coordinator at Innovations for Poverty Action
• Director, Greenhouse Gas Management at BP
• Executive VP at Africa Aid
• Consultant to EOHHS Children Youth and Families at Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services
• Strategic Planner
• Manager, Strategic Planning at Boston Public Schools
• Monitoring & Evaluation Manager at TechnoServe
• Legislative Correspondent at The United States Senate
• Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Public Engagement at The White House
• Program Manager, City Connects at Boston College
• Program Officer at Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Energy and Income Generation Specialist at The Earth Institute, Columbia University
• Associate at the World Resources Institute
• Associate at Censeo Consulting Group
• Implementation Manager at McMaster-Carr
• Strategy Consultant at KPMG Sustainability
• Fellow at Open Capital Advisory
• Specialist in African Community Development
• Director, Recruiting and Career Development at Oblong Industries Inc
• Case Team Leader at Monitor 360
• President, Environment & Enterprise Strategies
• Executive Director at Youth Venture
• CEO at New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce
• Director of Business Development, Acumen Fund
• Executive Director at New Mexico Independent Power Producers
• Healthcare Entrepreneur and General Manager at DaVita
• Executive Director at Equality North Carolina
• Senior Director, Alumni Relations at Harvard Kennedy School
• Director of Influence Projects at Year Up
• Consultant at The Bridgespan Group
• Consultant at The Boston Consulting Group
• Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company
• Executive Director at The Cambridge-Roxbury Foundation
• Economic Policy Legislative Assistant at United States Senate
• Director of Special Projects at New Teacher Center
• Consultant at Bain & Company
• Advisor at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance
• Lead Research Fellow, UNDP
• Chief of Staff at The Boston Foundation
• Manager of Social Media at Dell Services, Strategy and Business Consultant
• Director of Operations and Strategic Planning at Year Up
• Managing Director at District Management Council
• Senior Policy Analyst at 1199 SEIU
• Associate at Standard & Poor’s – Municipal Enterprise – Housing/Structured Finance
• Executive Director at Generation Rwanda
• Chief of Staff at US Congressman Chet Edwards
• Writer & President at EDUBERRY Institute of Global Education
• Director of Student Attendance at DC Public Schools
• Policy Analyst at MassBudget
• Program Examiner, Health at Office of Management and Budget
• Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State
• Revenue & Performance Management at City of Houston
• Program Development Consultant and Contractor
• Grade Chair and Lead Teacher at Blackstone Valley Prep
• Special Assistant for Cyber Policy at the United States Department of Defense
• Deputy Project Manager at MAXIMUS
• Founder of Our Global Victory
• Director of Special Programs, DIV at USAID
• Adjunct Professor, Social Entrepreneurship at New York University
• Senior Change Manager at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
• Managing Director at India Internet Fund
• Presidential Management Fellow at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Consultant – Governance for Extractive Industries at The World Bank
• Managing Partner at The Fuentes Consulting Group
• Chief Executive Officer at RWL Water, LLC
• Entrepreneurial Advisory Board at the City of Cambridge
• Program Manager at Institute for War and Peace Reporting
• Outreach Director at Wealth for the Common Good
• Chief of Staff for the Deputy Chief of Teaching and Learning at District of Columbia Public Schools
• Policy Director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
• Associate Client Advisor at Bridgewater Associates

If getting an education that would prepare you for these types of jobs sounds great to you, you should definitely consider getting a policy degree.

This is a question that many applicants with nonprofit and public sector work experience contemplate while applying to school. In fact, it’s a question that even current MPP students wrestle with. My first year of graduate school, I was shocked at how many of my HKS classmates began looking into the MBA program once the job recruiting season began and management consulting firms descended on the campus, promising hefty salaries with prestigious firms. Some of those people ended up going on to MBA programs, most commonly HBS, Tuck, and Sloan. As a joint degree and admissions consultant, I feel strongly about this topic and want to give some advice to those of you who are wondering if you should start with an MPP and then get an MBA.

You should never use one degree to springboard to another. I know of people who knew they really wanted an MBA degree, but figured that it would be “easier” to get an MPP first, after which they could more easily get an MBA. If you really want the education and experience of an MBA, apply for an MBA. It’s a waste of time and money to use one degree to get to another. I don’t think that all people who apply to MBA programs while in MPP programs are thinking this way. Some people simply did not ever consider getting an MBA before. Others planned all along to pursue a joint degree and for whatever reason did not apply at the same time as when they applied to policy programs. Deep down you know if you’d rather get an MPP, an MBA, or both. If you are pursuing both degrees just because you think it will facilitate admission to the other degree, you are likely setting yourself up for rejection as most admissions committees can see right through this. You’ll also have to scramble to figure out your purpose if your plan is to springboard from policy to business school but you don’t get accepted to any business schools.

It’s very hard to apply to graduate school while you are currently IN graduate school. If your plan includes applying to business school during your first year of policy school, know that doing this is very challenging. During your first year of policy school, you will be balancing your social life, your extracurricular activities, keeping up in your classes, and adjusting to the harsh Boston winter (at least for those of you who end up at Harvard). To add the grueling task of applying to business school on top of that is just asking to be completely overwhelmed. You may find yourself missing out on some of the best parts of graduate school because you are so busy trying to apply to a different graduate program. If you plan to do a joint degree, I highly recommend applying to both programs at the same time.

Understand what you learn with an MPP vs. an MBA. The reason companies pay MBAs so much money is that MBAs are trained to make companies more money. While business school does emphasize ethical decision-making, the goal of one’s efforts is to maximize shareholder value whereas the goal in the public sector is to maximize public value.  Both MBA and MPP programs emphasize leadership, management, and analytical skills. However, there is much more emphasis on running and leading companies in business school whereas in policy school, the emphasis is on running and leading organizations, communities, and causes. Lots of MPPs go into the public sector and some MBAs choose to go into the nonprofit and public sector. The clearer your professional goals, the more able you will be able to see whether you need or want both degrees. One important thing to remember about both an MBA and an MPP is that you will be competing for jobs with people who have neither degree. Why? Because some people simply have years and years of relevant work experience and decided not to go to school. No degree–even one from Harvard–is going to make you an automatic “in” at a firm.

Know why you want a joint or second degree. Two degrees is not always better than one. Sometimes, a joint degree can be confusing to employers–especially if your work experience is just as varied as your education. When I was recruiting for summer internships in graduate school, I had to convince the private sector companies that I could be happy in a corporate environment and I had to convince the nonprofits that I cared enough about the cause to help enact real change.  My loyalty was always in question and people seemed confused about what I was trying to do with my career. If you don’t know why you want a joint degree or second degree, you are going to have one heck of a time explaining it to recruiters–which is an essential skill, especially in the early years after school.

In conclusion, my answer to the question “Should you get an MPP and then get an MBA?” is No–not if you are using an MPP as a springboard to an MBA. Either get an MPP or get an MBA, but don’t use your MPP as a stepping stone. When I applied to Harvard Business School, it was not to supplement my Harvard Kennedy School education; it was to complement it. I had an outstanding educational experience at Harvard Kennedy School and don’t want anyone considering applying there for a degree to feel pressured to apply to another degree because they see others doing it. The Harvard MPP is a degree that can stand all on its own, but you have to be willing to bring your best recruiting game to the table to make the most of it. Being confident in your reasons for the decision to pursue the degree is the first step in that process.