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Master's Program help appreciated

Hello everyone! I'm new here and am hoping to get some answers. I am enrolled at SNHU to get my bachelor's in human services concentration in substance abuse and a minor in organizational leadership. I plan on getting a master's after I'm done with my bachelor's. I started my educational journey with the intention of becoming a substance abuse counselor and have since changed my mind. I want to be involved in policy writing and work with the community. I've been researching jobs related to this and have come up with a policy analyst. I planned on getting my master's in social work but am wondering if public admin would be better. I don't only want to work in policy, I want to work with people too. Any advice is welcome and appreciated.

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Daniel’s Answer

Hi,
If you are are looking into a master's program that will offer you more diversity in terms of roles and more importantly work and manage people, i will advice you might want to apply into a Public Administration or Human Resource program
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Taylor’s Answer

Your instincts are spot on. When I went to grad school, I was just enrolled in School of Social Work - administration track. Like you, I wanted to be in policy, but work on social issues. For me, it was disability. Half-way through my curriculum, I felt like all I was learning was how to manage and supervise therapists. Luckily, my grad school (UT - Austin) offered a dual degree program with social work and public policy. So I amended my curriculum to include policy.

Upon graduating, I received a job offer to join the policy team at the largest disability nonprofit organization in the country. I still work there.

I don't know if I would have this position had i not added policy to my grad school plan. I can't recommend the dual degree program enough: https://socialwork.utexas.edu/academics/mssw/dual-degrees/

Hope that helps!
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Ann’s Answer

Hi Nichole - the answer is it depends. You will get a far more in depth education and experience with policy writing in a Master's of Public Administration than you will with a Master's in Social Work. On the flip side, you will get far more education on working in the community and resources to help people in a Master's in Social Work than a Master's in Public Administration. With that said, there are plenty of small non-profits with limited resources where people wear multiple hats and will often be out in the community and writing policy. It's just a matter of finding the right fit for the education and experience you gain.

I would recommend starting with determining which side of policy you are interested in. Are you interested in working for a non-profit or lobbyist where you are an activist trying to get government to adopt certain policies, or are you interested in working in the office of a politician and be on the end of creating policies on behalf of the government?

From that, choose the degree that most aligns with the type of role you want and seek internships and other opportunities that will give you experience in that area.

I hope that helps. I was trying to give you actionable items without being to wordy. If you have additional questions feel free to leave a follow-up comment.

Good luck!
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