Public Policy

Brief Overview

Careers in policy or public policy represent a broad field of jobs or positions within all three sectors of the economy: for-profit, nonprofit and government. Generally, public policy careers are jobs or positions that work to shape or promote issues or perspectives and solutions to those issues with the goal of impacting legislation and influencing implementation of legislative decisions.

Public policy jobs include researching and producing information that shape public policy as well as actually writing, debating and enacting public policy through legislation. Of course, this covers many different topics and fields, but all share the common factor of impacting public issues, whether at the level of a small, definable group of individuals or an entire country or nation of people.

Making public policy from the initial step of bringing the problem to the attention of the public and lawmakers to the result of implementing new legislation is a complex process that involves a vast array of organizations, jobs and positions that play different roles in the public policy cycle.
Opportunities in public policy run a wide gamut of jobs:

  • Draft laws for Congress
  • Implement, enforce and articulate the laws passed by Congress
  • Determine the problems/issues to bring to the attention of legislators
  • Advocacy
  • Lobbying
  • Research
  • Policy Analyst

Public policy organizations include Congressional Staff and Committees, Trade Associations, Public Interest Groups, Think Tanks, Lobbying Firms, Capitol Hill, Federal Agencies and Departments, and Advocacy Organizations. Working in public policy may eventually require that you become an expert in a specific area. However, the skills of writing, negotiating, persuading, analyzing and understanding the process of public policy making are highly transferable from issue to issue. Public interest groups, think tanks, advocacy organizations, and particularly the Federal Government have opportunities and internships across multiple policy areas, such as:

  • Health/healthcare
  • Education
  • Women
  • Environment
  • Family
  • Children
  • Economic/Urban Development
  • International

Helpful Tips

Internships offered through the Washington Semester Program on Go IRISH offer multiple opportunities in the field, which could lead to full-time opportunities. Not participating in the Washington Semester Program? Apply for the summer internships at these same Washington Semester organizations. Seeking a full-time opportunity? Go IRISH provides a contact name for each of the Washington Semester public policy organizations – a valuable resource. Conducting informational interviews and maximizing your networking opportunities with public policy officials significantly enhances your public policy job search. Choosing an area of interest is also an important step to take – various types of public policy organizations are referenced in the links provided below. Build your policy interests in your resume through involvement with students groups, community service, courses and research topics, and summer internships focused on the policy areas of particular interest to you.

Networking

Link to the online Networking Guide to gain tips for networking with family, friends, and Notre Dame alumni. One of the most valuable resources you have is right here on campus — find the faculty members on campus who have expertise in the particular policy area of interest to you. Talk with them about the policy area, ask for people and organizations that they think you should contact and research, do an independent study with that professor on the policy area. Many Washington DC alumni either work in or have contacts within public policy organizations. The Career Center can help you connect with some of these alumni and learn how to obtain access to the Irish Online alumni database.

Professional Organizations

Professional organizations provide excellent contacts for networking and informational interviews. In some cases they may post jobs and internships on their websites.

Sample List of Public Policy Organizations

  • American Civil Liberties Union
    – A nonprofit and nonpartisan group that has grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 members and supporters.
  • Center for Strategic and International Studies
    – CSIS offers both full and part-time internships in the fall, spring and summer for undergraduate interested in gaining practical experience in public policy at an institution dedicated to analysis and policy impact.
  • Council on Foreign Relations
    – A nonpartisan and independent membership organization designed to be an online resource for everyone who wants to learn more about the complex international issues challenging policy-makers and citizens alike.
  • The Brookings Institution
    – Each program offers the opportunity to become involved with everyday activities at Brookings, and the chance to work in a professional research organization which studies a wide variety of public policy issues.
  • The Cato Institute
    – A non-profit public policy research foundation espousing the principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace in public policy debates.
  • The Heritage Foundation
    – A research and educational institute – a think tank – whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
  • Urban Institute
    – The Urban Institute is a nonprofit nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation.

Sites to Research Public Policy Organizations

  • Idealist
    – Since many public policy organizations are nonprofit, a search for organizations in Idealist, with “policy” as a key word search and selecting an area of focus results in a plethora of organizations focusing on that policy area. Search jobs using the same search parameters.
  • Think Tanks
    – University of Michigan provides a comprehensive database of think tanks by type, as well as an extensive listing of individual think tanks. Includes link to NIRA World Director of Think Tanks.
  • Careers in Lobbying
    – Career information on lobbying including types of lobbying firms and brief list of organizations
  • Trade Associations
    – Job postings for Federation of International Trade Associations (search using key word “entry level”).