<p>Is law school the best route to a policy career? Or perhaps an MPP/MPA? How does one decide?</p>
<p>And what if you want to do politics (run for national office, for example)?</p>
<p>what kind of policy career? do you want to work as an aide to a legislator or on a legislative committee? then maybe law school is good. there are relatively few lawyers at most think tanks and in teaching jobs--it seems like public policy and political science are more common tracks for that. some law firms have attorneys who work as lobbyists.</p>
<p>this sounds cynical, but the best preparation for running for office is to have a job where you make a lot of money and make a lot of contacts with lots of other wealthy people. being a lawyer is one way to do this.</p>
<p>Oh, this is a great question. I have no idea! Would it be a good idea to explore this interest by perhaps volunteering for a legislator in my area? Why are there few lawyers at think-tanks? </p>
<p>My idols are people like Larry Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain, Beth Noveck, and other stars of the law-and-technology world.</p>
<p>Different schools emphasize different joint degree programs and have varying levels of 'connection' to Washington, London, and other policy centers. There really is no single right answer or even a list of schools that are good for this, since it depends on what kind of policy interests you and on what level you wish to work. I became intrigued with this idea while visiting schools, and was most impressed with Stanford's offerings for the fields that interest me. However, Harvard's JFK or Chicago's Harris School could be more appealing to others interested in government or economics. </p>
<p>One thing I've heard from several people is that the lay prestige of the school you attend should be a consideration if you want to work in a field outside of law. If you're not going to be among people who will not recognize the strength of the NYU or Michigan law programs (which is most people), it is important to remember that to many, a Notre Dame degree is far more impressive than one from Penn.</p>