[La Sombra]

I am currently pursuing my undergraduate degree (two years left to go of what has seemed an interminable program!) in Asian Studies/Chinese and Spanish. All along, I planned to go on to get my Masters and certification in Education, which would take a full year in the program that I was considering.

However, lately, I have started to think about studying Public Policy. My current university has a really great program and it sounds very interesting. Although I am drawn to teaching, I would love to be able to work with communities of people who speak the languages that I'm studying, and to deal with policies issues regarding these populations. Yet as I've just started investigating this, I'm still not really sure what opportunities might be out there for someone with a (dual) Masters in Public Policy (and Asian Studies or Latin American Studies).

So anyone here in Public Policy? Can you help me with an idea of the types of careers that might be out there for someone with these credentials, and what type of lifestyle such careers might entail--ie, how much travel, how many hours and what kind of salary to expect. Also, could I get a job outside of D.C.? I don't know if I want to stay in Detroit (things are certainly pretty grim here) but I think I'd at least like the option to be there for me...

Thanks in advance for any and all input you may have!

 

[jenneology]

Turning your attention to public policy sounds like a good idea to me. In the last year of my master's I began to turn my attention to policy issues. For you, there are so many issues that the Asian and Latin American populations face in our country that there is definitely a need for educated people to work on those issues. Once you get to the Masters level, you become more qualified to take on those issues.

My degree isn't in public policy but a good portion of my M.Ed. focused on public policy regarding families and early childhood education. I too am considering additional education on public policy issues. I hadn't even considered looking for degree programs in public policy so thanks for giving me that additional insight. I'm looking right now at PhD programs that would give me experience in public policy arenas and I'm leaning most towards public health.

One thing I've been highly encouraged NOT to do is get an additional Master's degree. I have been told that it is best if you already have a Masters and want additional education to enroll as a PhD student.