(May 2006, SFSU graduation with my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism)
This will likely be one of those entries I look back on in two years and laugh about. I still have very little idea of what I'm getting myself into with my public admin degree, so my perception of the career path I'm now committed to is molded by that naivete. Please bear with me as I take a stab at understanding what I'm about to dive into.
According to Wikipedia: The Master of Public Administration (M.P.A. or MPA) degree is one of several Master's level professional public affairs degrees that provides training in public policy and project and program implementation (more recently known as public management).
MPA programs focus on public administration at the local, state/provincial, national/federal and supranational levels, as well as in the nonprofit sector. Through its history, the MPA degree has become more interdisciplinary by drawing from fields such as economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, and regional planning.
Sweet! I love public affairs and interdisciplinary studies, especially those particular subjects. But, and this is a big one, I have to seriously ponder if I have the patience and mental fortitude to deal with the dry, completely uncreative methods of public policy and implementation. I can barely get through reading news articles in The Economist, and those are meant to be entertaining. Let's take a look at my course load for the next full year:
- Public Administration & Society
- Organizational Theory & Human Behavior
- Philosophy of Public Administration
- Elements of Probability & Statistics
- Public Policy Formulation
- Human Org & Social Realities
- Changing Human Organizations
- Ethics and Administrative Responsibility
- Information Management in Public Organizations
- Governmental Budgeting
- Managing Public Organizations
- Graduate Synthesis
In the meantime, I'll need to maintain the hobbies that I adore because they'll keep me level headed. Graphic design, reading two books a week, taking the dogs out to the dog park, yoga and pilates, hiking, etc. are all part of my sanity maintenance regimen. And lucky for me, I've got wonderful loved ones by my side rooting me on through the whole process :) So wish me luck, because I'm attending my first introductory meeting next Wednesday!
3 comments:
Managing Public Organizations= pack some snickers. In today's world of PC, everyone's opinion must be aired, everyone's concerns must be considered, everyone's time must be wasted only to get to the same exact conclusion that was the gut reaction of everyone in the room-- before they started psycho-analyzing the impact of being blunt.
Hmm...do I seem scorned?
Good luck on Wed!
lol Chris I know exactly what you mean. Journalism is the exact same way, but FAR more theoretical than public organization discussions because journalists...have no idea what they're talking about. ;) I remember sitting in journalism ethics class thinking I wanted to walk around to each person saying, "You're pompous, you're deluded, you need a reality check, you need to leave this industry," etc. I can at least presume that the opinions in a public policy class are slightly more grounded than those I've dealt with in the past.
By the way, I'm sending a card your way tomorrow...I finally bought stamps. Brian and I laughed so hard over the card we selected for you and Brad that we had to contemplate keeping it for ourselves <3 I miss you!
Ooooo, it sounds like a great program. Can I come too? I'll audit. Just bring me with you. :)
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