A career in the public policy field focuses on public policy issues and public administration. Jobs in public policy advocate social and economic special interests that might otherwise get overlooked. The majority of the high-profile public policy jobs are government positions located in a nation’s capital while other jobs are at the local level, for example, withcounty and state government and city agencies.
One of the different types of public policy jobs is a lobbyist who primarily works for the capital of the jurisdiction or state he or she resides in. A lobbyist’s job is to try to promote a particular group’s views or opinions in the hope of convincing the legislature or public to agree with the group’s views. Most lobbyists work near a nation’s capital or for large corporations and interest groups. Lobbyists have their positions strictly regulated to ensure the lobbyist is following all rules and regulations.
Public policy analysts are another subset of public policy jobs for anyone interested in this career. A public policy analyst may work for a specific company or organization and addresses the needs that are relevant to that field. The analyst conducts research, prepares reports and presents information to the public on behalf of the organization. For example, a public policy analyst may research low-income communities and prepare a report on how issues such as financial and poor economical development affect the community.
Public administration is a different type of public policy job. In this position, a public service manager supervises civil servants and other staff as well as oversees business issues. One task a public administrator performs is handling jurisdictional and local elections. The elections have to be monitored to make sure the voting process is fair. The public administrator also works with the media to make sure the public gets necessary election information.
An individual who wishes to pursue a career in this field should obtain an advanced degree in public policy. Upon graduation, students often intern for government or federal agencies as strategic public researchers or get another type of legislature internship. Some of the non-profit public policy jobs require an understanding of certain health and safety regulations. There are also foreign service policy jobs for people with backgrounds in foreign languages and policies. For those who prefer to be in the classroom type setting, there are teaching opportunities available for someone with a public policy degree as well as a teaching certificate.