<p>I'm going to be at Duke this fall and I'm thinking of majoring in public policy. The thing about public policy is that doesn't really seem like the most lucrative of degrees, but it's not the most obscure either... And there are all kinds of directions you can take it in (healthcare, environment, education, media studies). </p>
<p>I have a bunch of questions and I'd really appreciate any help I can get.</p>
<p>What is the general impression of the public policy degree? Versatile? Useless?
What is the typical post-undergraduate route for the public policy major? (In either career or graduate school)
Do the majority of public policy grads end up working for the government?
What can you do with a public policy degree? I know civil service is one, obviously, and I also know journalism is another.
If you are a public policy grad, or know any public policy grads, what line of work are they in, and approximately how much are you/they earning?</p>
<p>Thank you so much.</p>
<p>how about political science or related field, then an mpa or mpp</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion. Why do you recommend that instead?</p>
<p>Well personally it is what I am doing for one… two, I have spent a good deal looking for good paying jobs in those kind of fields and most want either a Masters or 7-10 years exp. (I want to switch careers from IT into that) I have researched and feel the best route for me is that way… 1 year B.S. then I can do a part time MPA, for you… you could do a full time I’m sure.
I also think political science (you can still take public policy/public admin) will give you a better set of skills and focus on quantitative methods of research which could be applied to other fields in the future.
I’m sure public policy would get you an entry level job somewhere but don’t expect much pay at all.</p>
<p>Hmm, thanks for the input. What if I did a double major in public policy and something else, like political science?</p>
<p>No, do not double in PoliSci, double major in Statistics/Something With Lots of Quantitative Analysis or at the very, very least Economics… and make sure you take one semester each of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics (although Public Policy majors have to, anyway). That’s what SIPA-Columbia recommends and it’s generally a good idea for anyone going in this direction. You need to have really good analytic skills in quantitative analysis if you’re going to work in public policy… you’re basically going to be sitting there all day looking at statistics sheets, making calculations, justifying through numbers why you think this is the way to go. Public policy is 5% poetry and 95% numbers, numbers, numbers.</p>
<p>Thanks so much Paris, that’s exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Okay, one last question: since I don’t know if I’m going to be able to handle a double major yet, what if I majored in Public Policy and minored in Econ?</p>
<p>I’m sure that’s fine, too… sorry for saying the obvious but it really depends. At my undergrad, there would be no point in double majoring in Econ… you’d have to take all these fairly unrelated classes in order to fill in the requirements, so double majoring would actually be overkill and might even drag down GPA. Some schools have really good Public Policy programs that offer good classes in the analytic direction anyway, some don’t (mine didn’t!). </p>
<p>I’d think they want to see you capable of handling quantitative analysis though, and it’s up to you to set your level… I mean ideally we’d all like to have PhDs in Statistics but that’s not realistic. 
But I definitely recommend you take one semester each of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics at the very least, whether you happen to apply to SIPA or not. It’s just a good idea overall, considering the kind of work you would be doing, I think…</p>