The Degree of Master of Public Administration
The debate about the advantages and drawback of the public sector employment, as opposed to the private sector, has received a lot of attention in business and academic circles. It will continue occupying the minds of students and young professionals, making the decision with regards to their future careers. The discussions, surrounding the issue, include the levels of compensation, potential for career growth and personal development, benefits and job security and other constructs of employment. One could argue that the discussion of the meaning and consequences of this choice is covered with unwelcome mystery, which prevents many people, from seeing the reality. Essentially, the primary difference between private sector and public sector job is the employer: governmental or private sector. This, surely, determines the types of jobs and benefits, which an employee can receive, choosing his career path. When thinking about the potential of career development in public or private sector, people often place efficiency and width of choice on the first place. The reality shows that these elements of professional development are subjects to individual performance, organizational structure and a number of other independent factors, which will be discussed further. The choice of sector is already difficult, when it comes to the initial stages of our professional growth, the decision on post-graduation, however, is strategically complex. Once we pass a certain line in our career and manage to formulate specific expectations and goals in our long-term professional development, the decisions on professional education come to play. This essay aims to discuss the potential prospects for the individuals who choose to pursue a degree of Master of Public Administration and the opportunities which lie ahead of those, who choose this career. The thesis of this essay is: “There is a great potential in professional and personal growth for the specialists with a degree in MPA. In order to be able to get the most out of this degree, it is important to understand the scope and scale of opportunities of this specialty.”
The reasons for choosing a post-graduation in MPA can be various. It is evident that individual preferences and views determine the decisions of young people. There are several elements to this degree, through, which may explain the interest and passion for this specialty among those, who already made their choices. On the global arena, political, economic and business issues are becoming more and more interdependent with the growing complexity of relationships between large multinational corporations (MNCs), nonprofit organizations and governmental bodies. The limits of business activities are no longer restricted by the regulatory base and legal environment of a unique state. It happens in the majority of cases because international mobility and presence become paramount for sustainable strategic development. Outsourcing, production postponement, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), privatization of infrastructure and natural resource companies globally, make the partnership between the public and private organizations necessary for sustainable development. The reality is that managing resource constraints, implementing integrated technologies, optimizing and improving control in healthcare sector, training internationally mobile workforce are the objectives, which cannot be achieved unless the government, nonprofit and for-profit sectors join their efforts (Lovergrove and Thomas, 2013). At this point, leadership and management capabilities, which can create a link between all the sectors, become an irreplaceable link to drive change. Being part of this process, bringing together and creating open and effective communication channels and driving change at this level of partnerships is a fascinating and unique experience. Many young and ambitious professionals are attracted by this opportunity. It is possible to argue that MPA degree requires a certain level of a generalist approach from an individual, which may not suit and appeal to everyone, especially those professionals, whose capabilities and skills are very specific. With that in mind, MPA is a decision, which should be taken with clarity of understanding the scope and type of the jobs that may build on a career path.
Master in Public Administration is the program that opens up numerous career paths in the governmental sector on local, state and federal levels. Recently, career in nonprofit organizations with MPA degree is also becoming more and more popular among the program graduates. There is a myth that careers with MPA degree are “paying” much less than private sector, MBA graduate professionals would earn. MPA Degree (2013) suggests the lists of the seventeen most lucrative careers for MPA graduates, which helps to dispel the rumors about the “low-paying public sector”. The list includes many diverse professions. Among them a news reporter; positions at the local government office, such as City director, urban Planning and Development Director, Community Health Director and Police Commissioner; State and federal Offices positions, including CIA, Cabinet members, representative for the United Nations (UN) and others; private sector jobs, such as Chief Executive Officer (COO), Chief Operations Officer (COO), Charity Management and many other positions (MPADegree, 2013). The fact is that, in the increasingly complex external business environment, the skills and knowledge, represented by MPA graduates are becoming more and more valuable. This increases the search for MPA degree professionals on the market and adds value to the degree in general.
The attractiveness of the public sector on the employment market has evolved in a positive direction over the past decades. These changes are determined by the realization of the need for recruitment and increasing demand of specialized knowledge and expertise to manage the relationships between private and public sector and address the strategic issues on Federal levels. The study, conducted by OACD Committee on the Public Employer Project, outlines the overall situation in the OACD members’ countries with regards to the employment profile and challenges in the public sector. It is evident that the retention ratio and job satisfaction levels in the public sector are relatively high. The demand for human capital, however, is expected to overgrow the supply. With that the countries, like Sweden, Canada, Austria and a number of European states are looking at the ways to apply strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) practices to enhance selection, recruitment and retention capabilities of the NGOs and public organizations. It is interesting to mention that the statistics across the same OECD countries outlines the largest age group in employment portfolio of public sector are the individuals between thirty and thirty-nine years old (Aijala, 2001). The arguments and statistics above demonstrate that the international public sector and business environment illustrates great potential for the individuals with MPA degree. The same data also allows understanding the opportunities of international career development, which are often questioned by the sceptics in view of the public sector education and career progression.
Once the distinguishing characteristics and success rate of MPA degree were clarified, it is important to evaluate the attractiveness of this career path from financial and remuneration perspective. Global MPA (2013) notes that the statistics of public sector employment demonstrates that professional with complete MPA degree can considerably raise their average pay. As such, specialists with Bachelor degree reach their maximum earning potential at USD$ 50,000, while MPA degree raises this level to an average of USD$ 68,000. Some of the specific salary examples in Public Sector for the United States also help setting financial expectations of MPA graduates. Average salary for the position of HRM Director, for example, is USD$ 80,000, Director of Program Management can earn up to USD$ 60,000, while the income for an entry level positions is generally about USD$ 53,000. Private sector offers even better conditions for the specialists with MPA degree, based on the same source, average income of a Top Research or a Governmental Affairs Executive is USD$ 100,000 (Global MPA, 2013). It is possible to believe that the potential of the market and the direction in which international business environment develops will further strengthen the position of MPA graduates in both, public and private employment sectors.
Evaluating the potential paths, which one can and wish to take in their career development is a complex task, which should be include various decision-making factors. The attractiveness and potential of the public sector career and MPA degree specifically discussed previously will not solely serve as a decision driver for an individual. There are, certainly, pros and cons in pursuing this career. From the advantages perspective, it is already evident that the changing market environment made MPA more attractive and multifaceted in the variety of career paths. MPA degree provides individuals with a great opportunity to work directly with people and enhances people management and leadership skills. MPA degree is also a way to develop as a generalist with good insight in the triple-strength leadership (Lovengrive and Thomas, 2013). On the weak side, one should consider the stressfulness of the job and potentially very high responsibility level. MPA-driven jobs, as it was discussed previously, are always people-oriented and individuals, who are not willing or do not consider themselves suitable for high level people management positions may not benefit from pursuing this degree. MPA is a challenging and extremely intensive program, which opens new horizons for individuals, who aim to enact their leadership in a complex environment, linking political, economic and business interests. It is possible to argue that MPA degree is, probably, the best choice for those, who look for the possibility to develop their career with both, horizontal and vertical shifts. The threefold purpose of MPA degree allows a smoother transition between horizontal layers and places this degree in a very competitive position on the employment market.
The thesis of this essay is: “There is a great potential in professional and personal growth for the specialists with a degree in MPA. In order to be able to get the most out of this degree, it is important to understand the scope and scale of opportunities of this specialty.” An outlook into MPA program curriculum supports the argument on the attractiveness of MPA degree. An analysis of the potential market employment opportunities, variety of career paths and salary level expectations provide significant ground for consideration of MPA degree as a feasible and, even strategically advantageous alternative to the traditional MBA degree. The reality shows that recent developments on international business and political arenas create a need for closer and more affiliated partnership between private companies, NGOs and governmental bodies. Management of these strategic relationships also calls for a specific set of skills and expertise, which are fulfilled by MPA degree. Research and studies, conducted with regards to the strategic challenges of the public sector illustrate the growing focus on the HRM strategies and increasing demand for public sector professionals. There is no doubt that MPA is a the right choice for fast-tracked career and ambitious professionals. The choice, will, however, always be determined by a combination of above discussed external influences and personality traits that affect the attractiveness of this career.
References
Lovergrove N. and Thomas M. (2013). Triple-Strength Leadership. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 5 April 2014, http://hbr.org/2013/09/triple-strength-leadership/ar/1
MPADegree (2013). 17+ Most Lucrative Public Administration MPA Careers. MPA Degree [Online]. Retrieved 1 April 2014, http://mpadegree.org/17-most-lucrative-career-paths-in-public-administration/
Global MPA (2013). Salary and Benefits of MPA/MPP Graduates. Government, Multilaterals, NGOs and Consulting. Retrieved 1 April 2014, http://www.globalmpa.net/section/careers_jobs/salariesmpa_mppgraduates
Aijala K. (2001). Public Sector – An Employer of Choice? Report On the Competitive Public Employer Project. OECD Public Management Service. Retrieved 5 April 2014, www.oecd.org/dataoecd/37/29/1937556.pdf
Milakovich M. and Gordon G. (2013). Public Administration in America. Wadsworth, US: Cengage Learning. Print.
