There seems to be a lot of jerking off to the MBA degree (and to some extent the MSF) for getting into Finance, and this is absolutely rightfully so. However, in discussions about the HKSG (and other related masters programs) I have noticed that people often go on to work at places like World Bank, UN, IMF, and various governments in either think tanks or public policy positions.
My question is, specifically what type of jobs are available to someone who just graduated from a HKSG type program?
(seeking advice other than to just research the recent grad's LinkedIn's and/or check the program's website for placement stats.)
What would one's career look like in the long-term if they attended such a program?
Did anyone here attend such a master's program or know anyone that did and can elaborate upon their experience, type of people who attend this program, and future career prospects/campus recruiting?
Seeing as how World Bank, IMF etc. are still money-related institutions, how closely does the work there mirror the traditional finance roles (IB, PE, consulting etc.) that this website has become so fond of?
What type of transferrable skills would be learned in those positions?
How realistic would it be to expect to be able to make a lateral into one of WSO's favorite industries after a stint at an IMF think tank or World Bank role?
If someone was looking to make such a transition would an executive MBA or some other type of additional education be more of a necessity?
Lastly (not going to pretend like this isn't at least somewhat of a consideration), how "lucrative" would you say a role at any of these places is as far as salary, future earning potential, lifestyle, benefits etc.?
I've noticed folks get into McKinsey out of MPAs at Harvard or Princeton. Haven't seen anyone break into Wall St.
I have a number of friends that did HKS, so I can comment there.
The student body is comprised of people primarily interested in public policy or public administration roles. As a result, recruiting -- both in terms of the opportunity set available to students and the overall vibe of the student body living, breathing, and hoping for their dream role -- is geared predominantly towards exactly that.
The people I know who seem to be most economically comfortable out of HKS are those who either took an MBB role (few) or did a joint-degree with HBS or HLS because of some unique angle they wanted to pursue.
In that latter group, most were URM students who were receiving substantial enough financial aid packages where the extra year on campus didn't matter because they were a first-generation college student / immigrant during their childhood years / had some other hook that made them compelling to the adcom and served as 'brochure bait' where the school could print their student profile and success story in a glossy pamphlet about student diversity.
I know in order of frequency, the private sector placements were to consultancies, international development, then law firms. Most were one-of-one placements, meaning only one HKS grad that year was going to that firm.
I have no idea what compensation looks like for people outside of banking or consulting (and to some small extent, BigLaw), so unfortunately I can't offer any color there.
World Bank and IMF and similar roles are not a fantastic stepping stone to traditional banking or PE. The most likely overlap would be if you were in some kind of development finance role and then looked to transition to a major infrastructure investor (like GIP, Stonepeak, Arcus, LS Power), emerging markets private equity find (Abraaj or Denham or similar), or impact investment shops whose strategy was most similar to your group's.
Know that the IFC is the private sector investment arm of the World Bank. That is probably going to be the role most analogous to a traditional private equity job. It is a massive organization and teams are based on region, industry, and stage (e.g. venture capital in Latin America is different from growth capital in APAC is different from private equity in Africa).
So, in summary, it probably isn't too realistic that you can use the dramatically easier acceptance rate HKS offers to game your way into a World Bank-type job that would set you up to transition onto 'the path' after only a couple years. If you chose to attend HKS, you're best off networking really aggressively to find your own opportunity at a bulge bracket bank and be the one-of-one placement at JPM or wherever, then progress vertically from there.
I would expect that policy schools probably don't offer the best pipeline for PE or IB. However, many of the best policy programs are well-represented at the top management and economic consulting firms.
I'm also skeptical that Harvard-Kennedy has a "dramatically easier acceptance rate" when the MPP program's acceptance rate was reportedly under 20% back in 2010. It's likely dropped over the past decade, and while higher than the likes of HBS and HLS (~12%), is still probably around 16-18%.
He Liu is an economist and politician in China. He graduated from HKSG with a mid-career MPA (Mason Program). Now he is the vice premier overseeing the economy and financial sector.
There are a cadre of wealthy foreigners and/or politically connected individuals whose countries send them over to these schools for branding/title polishing/grooming/networking. Their outcomes are mostly pre-planned and hardly typical. Most HKS grads will find themselves in the exact jobs that APAE described.
I’m under impression World Bank doesn’t hire Americans, at least not recent grads who lack sophisticated tech skills useful in the field. The Americans in upper ranks are lateral hires.
In addition jobs at government institutions, you could also look for a job in the municipal bond industry. MPAs are somewhat common in that area of finance. So you could look for any type of finance role in that area (banking, trading, PWM, IM, rating agency, etc). I’m sure they also publish employment reports to give you a better idea of what kind of jobs students land after graduation.
What if I was looking for a job in Economic Development for the United Nations? (Provided I speak a relevant language)
I don't know enough about that kind of position to answer accurately
Harvard Kennedy School of Government (and schools of the like) (Originally Posted: 02/28/2018)
There seems to be a lot of jerking off to the MBA degree (and to some extent the MSF) for getting into Fínancé, and this is absolutely rightfully so. However, in discussions about the HKSG (and other related masters programs) I have noticed that people often go on to work at places like World Bank, UN, IMF, and various governments in either think tanks or public policy positions.
My question is, specifically what type of jobs are available to someone who just graduated from a HKSG type program?
(seeking advice other than to just research the recent grad's LinkedIn's and/or check the program's website for placement stats.)
What would one's career look like in the long-term if they attended such a program?
Did anyone here attend such a master's program or know anyone that did and can elaborate upon their experience, type of people who attend this program, and future career prospects/campus recruiting?
Seeing as how World Bank, IMF etc. are still money-related institutions, how closely does the work there mirror the traditional finance roles (IB, PE, consulting etc.) that this website has become so fond of?
What type of transferrable skills would be learned in those positions?
How realistic would it be to expect to be able to make a lateral into one of WSO's favorite industries after a stint at an IMF think tank or World Bank role?
If someone was looking to make such a transition would an executive MBA or some other type of additional education be more of a necessity?
Lastly (not going to pretend like this isn't at least somewhat of a consideration), how "lucrative" would you say a role at any of these places is as far as salary, future earning potential, lifestyle, benefits etc.?
Hey AttackSnail, what a lonely thread. I'm here since nobody responded ...so maybe one of these discussions will help:
No promises, but maybe one of our professional members will share their wisdom: DollarKeepsRaining @Vivek-Thakkar12" rrmalik
You're welcome.
Harvard Kennedy School (Originally Posted: 12/08/2012)
Is there anyone on here who is alumni or current student of Harvard Kennedy School? If so, can you please PM me, as I would like to ask a few questions.
Thanks
Paula Broadwell?
you got her email?
anyone else?
I'm balancing the pros/cons of a MBA, MPA (ID), CFA, or learning Python and juxtaposing that with my interests. Frankly, I'm pretty bullish on an MPP given my interest in geopolitics.
Have you checked out HKS employment reports? They stopped showing salaries after their 2016 class, but that reported indicated private sector median salaries were of $120K for that class. That did not include other forms of comp.
More constructively, the 2018 report revealed graduates found jobs at bulge brackets, FAANGs, and big 3 consultants: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/OCA/files/19_DPSA_OCA_E…
I know several pretty major consulting firms, especially those with a government focused group, recruit at Harvard Kennedy and Tufts Fletcher.
The folks reading this thread might be interested in the interview I just had with the head of admissions at HKS.
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