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Home > For Principal Reps and Faculty > Almanac >

Attitudes Towards Public Service Careers

NASPAA/GWU Survey Results

MPAs and MPPs View Federal Employment:
Impressions, Incentives, and Impediments

William C. Adams,
Andrew S. Goldsmith,
Damian A. McKenna,
and Philippe S.Rosse
The George Washington University, Public Administration Department, 1998

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This 1998 nationwide survey of 477 graduate students in 28 MPA and MPP programs found that Federal civil service employment is not nearly as appealing to these first-year students as might be expected. Federal jobs are a priority for only about one fourth of these students. Most view Federal jobs as offering attractive benefits and job security, but no other features were widely viewed as positive.

The single most powerful predictor of affinity for Federal jobs is having the personal career priority of having “a real impact on national issues” and believing that Federal jobs offer that opportunity. Those who value and are optimistic about chances for personal growth and job security are also significantly more likely than other MPA/P students to want Federal careers.Along with these opinion factors, the attraction to Federal jobs is stronger among those who have friends and relatives who work for government.

Converting student interest into actual workers confronts at least one serious obstacle.Even students who are eager to get a Federal job believe that doing so would probably be a prolonged and laborious process.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STUDY

Impressions of Federal jobs

Premise of the survey: “This survey seeks your impressions of working for the Federal government (but not in the military and not as an elected politician) in jobs where recent graduates of your program might be employed.”

Percentage of Respondents that think the following qualities are "very/mostly" typical of Federal jobs
Attractive Benefits	84%
Job Security	74%
Advancement Opportunity	58%
Workplace Diversity	57%
Good Family Leave	57%
Peers Respect Job	56%
Challenging Work	55%
Salary Increases	45%
Impact Natl. Issues	43%
Modern, High-tech	36%
Make World Better	36%
Help Others Directly	35%
Merit Rewards/Recog.	34%
Per. Growth/Skills	33%
Congenial Office Rel.	30%
Capable Co-workers	29%
Good Starting Salary	25%
Efficient Procedures	23%
Low-Pressure Work	21%
Rel. Outside Office	18%
Freedom in Job	10%

The Appeal of Federal Careers

Stalwarts Only 36% of the new graduate students in public administration and public policy said that working for the Federal government was either "very appealing" and/or that it was their top preference over other options (state or local government, non-profits, business and the private sector).

Sympathizers Altogether, 12% consider a Federal job "fairly appealing" and ranked it as their second choice (usually behind non-profits or state and local government).

Skeptics About 36% of students surveyed consider a Federal job to be no more than "slightly appealing" and give it a lower priority - but do say that "at some point" they would be willing to "consider working for the Federal government."

Scorners A total of 16% of these graduate students said they would not even "consider working for the Federal government" at any time during their career.

Preferred Career Sectors
The following are the preferred career sectors of MPA/P Students:

SECTOR	FIRST CHOICE
Federal	26%
State	11%
Local	15%
Non-Profit	22%
Private Sector	26%
TOTAL	100%

Attitudes of Students

Attitudes of Students Entering College
	1996	1995	1994	1993	1992	1991	1990	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985	1984	1983	1982	1981	1980	1979	1978	1977	1976	1975	1974	1973	1972	1971	1970	1969	1968	1967	1966
Frequently or Occasionally
Participated in organized demonstrations		41.2	41	40.4	38.6	40.5	39.4	36.7	36.1					20.5	21.4	20.1	--	18.1	16.8	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	16.3	16.6
Worked in a local, state, or national political campaign	6.6	7.6			7.3				8.7				8.9	7.5	8.2	8.8		8.8	8.9							13	14.1	16.4	12.7
Performed Volunteer Work	71.8	70.3	70.1	67.7	65.8	64.7	63.1	62	--	--	69.4	70.4	69.8	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
Frequently Only
Voted in a student election	23	22.7			29.8	32.7																				64.4	66	67.3	76.9	72.9	70.7
Discussed Politics	16.2	14.8	16	18.8	24.6	20.5			18.6																	21.1	26.8	25.9	29.9	24.2
Objectives Considered to be Essential or Very Important
Influence the political structure	17.7	17.2	18.7	20.6	20.1	17.9	20.6	19.9	14.2	16.4	14.5	15.6	15	13.9	14.8	15	16.2	15.4	14.8	15.7	15.2	14.4	12.5	14.6	15.7	14.1	18.3	16.3
Influence social values	39	38.2	40.2	42.2	43.3	39.6	42.9	41.1	37	36	32.5	32.9	32.1	30.7	31.1	31.8	32.2	31.9	31.1	30.8	29.7	30	27.2	31.1	30.4	28	34	33.9
Help others who are in difficulty	62.5	60.7	61.7	63.6	63	60.3	62	59.7	*	58.7	57.2	63.4	61.9	61.7	61.6	62.9	64.7	63.7	65.5	65.1	63.1	66	61.3	64.3	66.7	62.7	64.9	65.5	58.9	61.8	68.6
Become involved in programs to clean up the environment	20.7	22.5	24.3	28.6	33.6	31.3	33.9	26.1		17.7	15.9	20.3	20.6	21.2	22.9	24.8	26.7	26	27.5	29.4	27.7	28.8	25.9	34.3	44.6	42.9
Participate in a community action program	23.7	23	24.4	25.6	26.1	23.5	25.9	23.3		19.8	18.5	22.8	22.2	22.1	22.8	24.1	27.4	26	26.7	29.4	28.8	30.4	27.5		29.1	25.9	29.4
Keep up to date with political affairs	29.4	28.5	31.9	37.6	38.8	37.1	42.4	39.4					38	35.1	38.2	39.2	40	38.1	36.8	39.9	37.4	38.6	36.6	42.4	48.7	42.8	52.8	51.4	51.7	5038	57.8
Participate in an organization like the Peace Corps or Vista																									15.8	16.2	19.5		18.4	18.9	21
Become a community leader	32.1	29.8	31		30.7																				14.9	13.3	16.2	17.6	21	23.8	56.1
% Who Strongly Agree or Agree Somewhat
Realistically, an individual can do little to bring about changes in our society	31.5	33.6	32.6	32.5	31	31.3						37.2								44.4	44.3	47.9	43.7	41.1	43.14	42.9	39	36.1	32.1	32.9

Source: Information courtesy of the Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/cirp.htm

In Search of Public Service
by Paul C. Light
June 2003

Summary

As the class of 2003 leaves campus life behind, many graduates are interested in going into public service, especially in the nonprofit sector. A new survey conducted for the Brookings Institution shows that government is their second choice, with contract firms a distant third.

Read the full report here:

http://www.brookings.edu/gs/cps/search.pdf

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