Advice for getting a job in public finance

I'm a second-year master's student in public policy at a top 5 program, and I've focused on data science and economics courses. Before grad school, I worked for a couple of years at a small company as a consultant in a niche area working with state and local governments. Do you all have any advice for getting a job in public finance? Most people at my school want to do public sector consulting, but I didn't get any interview offers from the prestigious firms. I made it to the final interview with a medium-sized accounting firm to be a municipal finance consultant, but I didn't get the job because I don't know Excel (we use python and R in my courses). I'm pretty sure I'll find a good job, but I'll take any advice you folks are willing to give. Thank you.

 

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