Need your opinion on obtaining Federal employment (real estate, attorney)

[salomea]

I have a Master degree in Education, but am now considering a future career in the Federal government in an analyst position. Would obtaining a MPA degree increase my chances of getting a Federal position? I also have two bachelor degrees: one in Business Administration and one in Psychology. I want to continue my education, but not sure if the MPA would be valueable. If I decide to do it, I would go to George Mason University.

Any advice??

Thank you

[old bird]

gernerally for federal employment degrees are a plus. But they need to be related to what you are doing. As with anything, it depends on your total experience and total education and what position you are going for.

If you are just out of school and trying to jump into a management position just because you have a business degree and MPA, it won't happen. You need the experience to back it up. Private businesses might do that, but the government doesn't.

The position is also key to the question - you've got a real mix of degrees there, but there are few positions that could take advantage of all of them. They'll do you no good if they're unrelated to the position.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by salomea

I have a Master degree in Education, but am now considering a future career in the Federal government in an analyst position. Would obtaining a MPA degree increase my chances of getting a Federal position? I also have two bachelor degrees: one in Business Administration and one in Psychology. I want to continue my education, but not sure if the MPA would be valueable. If I decide to do it, I would go to George Mason University.

Any advice??

Thank you

As old bird said, your experience would be your most important asset in the government. Getting a lot of degrees doesn't get you as far as you may think. It seems also that it is a lot of who you know, more than what you know. Once you get your foot in the door though, don't expect moving up to be automatic just because of your degrees. The government isn't always the easiest place to navigate, and the degrees will only get you so far. Good performance and experience will help you move up to where you want to be and degrees will not really get as much consideration.

[salomea]

Thank you both for the replies! I am trying to figure out if a MPA (Master in Public Administration) would be a good way for me to "gain" some experience through both the course work and the internship that is required in the program. When I talked to the advisor in GMU, she said that completing the MPA would allow me to move into management positions in the federal government. I understand and am willing to take a lower position than my degrees warrant just to get my foot in the door, but I'm just wondering if I could take the same route without going back for the MPA (avoid the adding cost of grad school if I don't really need it for an entry level fed job).
Advice?

[buildinginva]

Unless you think you need to learn some budgeting and statistics through the MPA program, I wouldn't spend the money. What counts more is specialized experience. I would spend the time instead figuring out what kind of position you'd want and at what agency. Look at their job postings, if you are not qualified enough, then spend a year or two to gain the private sector experience needed for the position.

[salomea]

Thank you buildinginva for your reply.

[old bird]

It won't help for an entry level position. It might even be a turnoff for many potential supervisors - no one wants to hire a trainee that might compete with them. And, as meatkins mentioned, don't go to the federal government with the expectations of starting low and quickly moving up. You are FAR better off getting an entry level job with your current education, then later earning the MPA (some agencies will even pay for that education).

As buildinginva mentioned as well, even private sector experience helps. I worked for the FAA for a number of years (I have a BA and JD) at a mid level administrative position. I had already had 7 years experience as an attorney, realtor and appraiser at that point. After several years I began looking for a position one step up. I very quickly found that there were limited opportunities unless you know the right person, and decided that moving up would be incredibly slow from the inside.

I left and went back to the private sector for 7 years, building a succesful business and gaining business, supervision and more real estate experience. I've just been hired by another agency at a position several levels above where I was in the FAA. I could not have done this nearly as quickly as I did if I had stayed in the government, maybe not at all. This time I've taken a position that I would enjoy being in for the rest of my career, if that's what it takes. I have no expectations of moving up from the inside, although after a number of years I will likely still look a bit for the perfect job.

Yes, many people do move up from inside the government, in fact probably most do. But it is very slow in comparison to the private sector and is by no means guaranteed.

[salomea]

Thank you Old Bird for your input. I agree with the need for experience, however, I am a teacher right now in a public school. I also have plans to obtain my education administration license to move up into educational administration in my district. Do you think that having administration experience in public education could help me gain federal employment in the future? In my view, a lot of the same issues apply...budgeting, planning, analysis, human resources.
I appreciate all of your responses, they have been very helpful!

[dtt99]

Originally Posted by buildinginva

Unless you think you need to learn some budgeting and statistics through the MPA program, I wouldn't spend the money. What counts more is specialized experience. I would spend the time instead figuring out what kind of position you'd want and at what agency. Look at their job postings, if you are not qualified enough, then spend a year or two to gain the private sector experience needed for the position.

I second this. At a recent recognition ceremony at our agency in which previous experience and achievements were cited, 90% of the recognized people had very closely related experience to their current position before they were hired.

[SteelCityRising]

Salomea, as a 23-year-old who has been employed with the Federal government for nearly a year-and-a-half now I can say to you that in some positions it may actually be at your detriment to come in at a higher grade level due to your higher qualifications. In my particular agency you can be promoted up to the GS-11 level pretty much automatically (going from GS-7 to GS-9 to GS-11), assuming you are productive, and if your supervisor doesn't dislike you. Even at just the GS-11 level you'd be making a little over $60,000, which isn't a small chunk of change if you're a single person with limited debt. However, to advance to the GS-12 position (senior level) you need to have completed an array of assignments in an experience matrix to show you are capable of multi-tasking and have a breadth of knowledge. Coming in with just a Bachelor's Degree at a GS-7 I have an extra year available to complete that matrix, and I'm already 2/3 of the way completed with it as a GS-9. This means I still have about a year-and-a-half to finish up the last 1/3 of assignment types to snag that coveted GS-12 promotion. If you come in with a Master's Degree at my agency you start off as a GS-9, which puts some additional pressure on you, as you then only have two years (not three) to finish that matrix, and the learning curve with my agency in particular is extremely steep and often times frustrating, as there were times I'd just stare at a spreadsheet, scratch my head, and think "Huh?"

My plan is to work hard to obtain my GS-11 promotion in June 2011, and then enroll at GMU in Fall 2011 to pursue my MPA, which my agency will pay for in full (the Feds will pay for any degree, really, as long as you can justify how completing the degree would make you more valuable in your position). Eventually I may look to transfer to the private sector and pursue my Ph.D. as well. If a Federal agency will pay for your education, then why go out of your way to pay for the degree on your own first and THEN get the job?

Your experience may vary, of course, depending upon agency, but at least in my case I feel as if it was more advantageous for me to have come in with a Bachelor's Degree at the GS-7 level in order to have additional time to learn the ropes before having to worry about competitive promotions.