u/GradSchoolGrad

I have been networking with MBA students (T10 schools) for my consulting firm and wow, I am disappointed.

Of the 12, I sent negative feedback to the recruiter for all of them. No confidence. Struggle to hold conversations. A lot are really negative on themselves. Two started crying about how consulting networking was stressing them out. Most of them were asking questions about how they can avoid travel.

Anyone else finding today’s students to be just plain bad with networking?

Interesting discussion I had with a grad school policy professor.

The contention was that demand among employers has shrank across the board. Thereby, right now for this degree area, it is simply degree over production.

The market might correct it in a few years time or so.

However for the average MPP/MPA today their degree is being devalued in the job market if they stay in the policy space (not counting those that leave the policy space and utilize your degree as a generic masters)

Is it me or are we seeing more recent top MBAs who rock the GMAT but have weaker soft skills and thereby struggle with the modern corporate job market?

I just had lunch with of my friends who does Public Policy in California. He had two interesting takeaways.

1. There has a been frothy state government job market in California due to the bloat of State and big city government in the past 10 years or so.

2. This is likely to crash in the next decade due to two reasons. The expected shrinking of education (K-12 and Higher Ed) jobs as the youth population decreases. The supposed rising wholesale backlash against wasteful government spending in the state.

I do not live in California, but I am interested to hear thoughts.

I just came back from a research trip in the Nordics and it was fascinating. They seem to souring on their own democratic socialism and slowly retreating away from it.

Part of this has to do with a negative reaction to benefits to migrants in all fairness. They find it fascinating that it is becoming more popular in the US.

Are policy schools for definitively doing comparative analysis on where democratic socialism works and falls short?

Are less people interested in MPP/MPA grad schools with the new limits the US Government is putting on grad school loans?

Although not fully set in stone, Duke's Terry Sanford Center for International Development is set to be closed and its Director, Ed Malesky, will subsequently not have a job at Duke.

Big picture. International development is dying as a career field in the US. If you are in it, you don't have job security. If you are in a student in it, your career opportunities are shrinking. If you are considering it, you may want to explore something else as the places to train you are shrinking/closing/becoming too expensive.

It won't be long before MIDP and GHD at Georgetown closes its doors (IMO). They also have Directors near the twilight of their careers.

SIPA and HKS's international development programs may be the last ones limping along, but who knows.

I'm increasingly seeing MPP/MPA grad alums, where they have zero full time professional work experience, but their MPP/MPA is their 2nd (and gasp, even 3rd Master's). Usually they did a one year Master's or graduated their B.A. with a Master's in 4 or 5 years, then did a MPP afterwards.

I can kind of understand getting a 2nd Master's as a pivot (e.g., started going with a technical track but then pivoting to policy). However, when the education looks repetitive, it is actually a negative to me (e.g., Politics major, politics 1 year Masters, MPP).

Any thoughts?

So I talked to a recent graduate from an MPP school who told me that she felt that aside from some technical skills, most of the coursework felt worn and tired from professors who are out of step with hour politics and policy work in today's world.

Anyone have an thoughts?