Alternative Exit Opps?
I remember creating a thread for this with regard to lobbying (given the largely transferrable skills between roles), but I've sat in on a few information sessions with varied federal and international organizations that talked about how they will often hire early-career consultants.
I'm assuming this experience would need to be accentuated by specific project types or even a graduate degree (e.g., MSFS from GU, Legislative Affairs MS from GW, MPP from Harvard, Policy degree from JH, etc.), but I would love to hear from any folks in consulting who either did transition to a global gov agency/org or know people who did.
I know the TC isn't going to be the same (unless you can kill it as a lobbyist or maybe in corp gov relations), of course, so I'm less interested in that (although I know the UN is tax-exempt + pays extra for time away from home and for the level of risk you're incurring so your salary on paper is your actual salary). I just think that some of the jobs in that sector seem genuinely cool and engaging (e.g. sat in on a talk by the DIA about some of their gigs that offer lots of opportunities to work overseas on military operations teams as a civilian), so to hear from people who actually made a transition would be insightful.
For context, when I say global org, that can be anything from the United Nations to the State Department, Federal Reserve Board (sat in on a talk with them too and they also like to hire consultants), World Bank, World Economic Forum, CIA, a large industry org's Government Affairs/Relations team, etc. Anything of that nature.
Side note: I know this ask is a stretch, but I wanted to these feelers out now that I know I'll for sure be working in DC as a consultant after graduation. I've been scoping graduate schools/career options based in that area before I even started my undergrad studies, and I knew consulting would be a great alternative to working on Capitol Hill for pennies while still getting a chance to network, make some decent money, and learn the anatomy of varied industries while picking up some solid generalist skills that could provide some value once it's time for an exit.
The role of these types of organizations in the state of our economy, the prices of goods, geopolitical relations, our day-to-day lives, etc. is super fascinating to me. Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars by George Franklin (ex-lobbyist for Kellogg Company - highly recommend the read; flew through the book during a long layover) changed my life and led to my reading a boatload of other books about the intersection of business and politics, and how just about every element of our lives is impacted by the work of lobbyists and other faceless, nameless individuals that work for nonprofit orgs, think-tanks, and other vehicles for corporate or political influence.
Hi yjackets, any of these discussions helpful:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
As someone who has some exposure to the world of impactful gov't/policy work, I can tell you that a lot of it is very relationship based. I don't mean "got coffee and chatted once" type of relationship, I mean somebody that will back you and give your name credibility. If you don't have those relationships right now thats fine, plenty of people get into gov't young and work their way up to impactful positions. Top grad schools definitely help either way.
Appreciate the insight here! I guessed as much. Climate change is a big part of my undergrad education, and I've worked for various fed agencies as a lower-level employee (wildland firefighting and AmeriCorps). One of the major themes I remembered when learning about the more exciting and cool-sounding jobs was that they are highly coveted and sometimes even more competitive than IB or higher-level consulting since they are almost purely relationship-driven.
This also sheds light on why one's program can be important. Schools like Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and George Washington alone account for tens of thousands of employees within that world, specifically in DC. For example, GW alone has 5500+ alumni in higher level gov-adjacent/gov roles, over 50% of "revolving door" lobbyists being GU alumni, and JH's environmental science and policy MS program has 29 alumni that hold Director+ roles with NPS, USFS, DOE, etc. Overall, not super different from going to HBS if you want to work in PE or Stanford for big tech, though I think the technical element of those other jobs can level the playing field a bit more.
I've been on both sides of the fence, having worked as a adviser to executive government-level politicians, and in government relations at a large corporation. In terms of the latter: if you're junior, your role is going to be largely procedural (monitoring relevant election outcomes, compiling bios, researching issues). The high impact stuff is done at the top levels, generally by people who already have deep relationships with decision-makers as the previous poster mentioned.
On the flipside, lobbying usually isn't as high impact as some dramatized accounts make out. In my time in government, lobbyists certainly gave a voice to perspectives on a particular issue - but the politicians I worked for always assessed the merits of certain legislation in its entirety, and considered the potential impacts on the constituency as a whole, as opposed to one industry or company.
That's actually kind of nice to hear about the officials. Much of what the public gets when it comes to political procedures are largely theatrical or conjecture-driven statements, so it's cool to hear that there are still those who are conscientious with their decisions.
Out of curiosity, what was your trajectory toward advisory/government relations like? Fairly linear, or more build upon "right time, right place" situations with your relationship-building and the type of work you were doing? Did you have some industry experience before jumping into that kind of work?
I'm definitely in the minority defending politicians and of course, it's not to say some of the public cynicism isn't warranted - there are certainly bad apples out there that probably justify it!
I went government -> government relations -> consulting. It's definitely a mix of both, based both on the moves I saw colleagues make, as well as my own. You need a certain amount of tenure and exposure to a relevant industry, since companies are really hiring you for your connections and your knowledge from the other side of the table.
Hope that helps!
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