Focusing on my future social policy career!

It's daunting to think about career goals. Doing so can conjure up memories of awkward family holiday parties, where relatives ask, "What do you want to do?" At first, it was an exciting thing to discuss. Nowadays, though — goodness forbid I can't dodge the question — my answer is followed by a mystified look and an "Ohhhh... cool...What's that mean?"

Perhaps a better way for me to think about my career path is to think about the skills I have and those I need to develop. Granted, it is a bit of an odd thing to share on a blog, but, hey, maybe you, my dear reader, will see that some of my inner struggles are also yours.

So, to start with the basics: I am a MPP (Master of Public Policy) and MBA student at the Heller School, Brandeis University. I started five months ago (wow, time flies) not sure of what I had to offer to the social policy field. Maybe it was a bit dangerous to jump into a program, not sure of what I had to offer. What I did know, five months ago, was that public policy is about making reasoned decisions in service of one's fellow citizens. That profession sounded far more appealing than my experience of the legal profession: behaving as a hired gun, obsessively crafting one's arguments day-in and day-out, not in search of truth, but in search of a self-beneficial outcome. I saw public policy, and the work of a policy analyst, as more compatible with my mores and aspirations.

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While back in Western New York during winter break, someone told me what a shame it was that my time at law school was "lost." Honestly, I think this could not be further from the truth. During that year, I gained skills that will nicely accessorize my policy analyst toolbox. I have the ability to intelligently read, research, and work with laws and regulations. My writing skills, both professional and legal writing, improved. Finally, I learned about the legal profession, what makes lawyers tick, and how and where they work in the government. I think this suits me well for a policy analyst job in the legislative branch. I hope to test this hypothesis this summer if I am successful in my application to the Rappaport Fellowship.

Of course, there are things that I do need to learn. First and foremost, I must continue to refine my writing. Over and over again this past weekend I have been thinking about Pascal's quote, "I would have written you a shorter letter if I had more time." The balance between beautiful/persuasive and efficient writing is a difficult one, and different writing styles necessitate efficiency over beauty, and vice versa. Not only that, if I am going to be an efficient policy analyst, I need to learn the terminology used in the field.

Finally, I need to further develop my quantitative research skills. As a Religious Studies undergraduate, this is obviously not my forté. With practice, though, I hope I can sharpen my these skills. Only then can truly approach social policy issues from a holistic, intersectional perspective.