Public Administration
As managers of important public entities like airports, schools, parks, & government agencies, public administrators must hire and fire personnel, prepare and analyze budgets, plan for the future of an institution and interpret laws and policies. They sometimes play a public relations role and work with an array of advisory committees, public agencies and elected officials. Public Administration specializations include: State and local government, Nonprofit management, Health care administration, Urban Affairs, Philanthropic development, Fiscal Management, Transportation.
Jobs in Public Administration
City/County Managers supervise all city and county departments, prepare the city and county annual budget, administer city council policies, hire city personnel and coordinate a city or county mass transit program.
Policy Analysts research write and edit studies on various issues and topics.
Program directors or program coordinators plan and run special programs in government, business and in non-profit organizations. They decide an organization’s policies, supervise program staff and advocate on behalf of the constituency they serve.
Directors of development organize and implement fundraising drives for their organizations. They seek out new donors and philanthropists, write grant proposals and handle special events and marketing.
Budget consultants and analysts manage an organization’s finances. They do bookkeeping activities, prepare invoices and write financial reports.
Human resource managers oversee the employee-employer relations in a business or organization. They participate in labor negotiations, make sure that union contracts are honored, administer and implement company policies, develop health, safety and training programs for employees, assist supervisors with disciplinary issues and recruit new employees.
Occupational safety coordinators assess risks to health and safety in a workplace and design appropriate safety controls. They provide advice on accident prevention and occupational health to management and employees.
Lobbyists advocate for an organization or position in the state and federal legislatures.
Information specialists plan, direct and supervise the information branch of any organization. They coordinate public relations efforts and talk with the media.
Grant writers look for federal, state and local grants, write grant applications and perform other tasks related to getting grants.
Job prospects in this field depend largely on the exact position that an applicant is seeking. Top executive positions are hard to find because the prestige and high pay attract a large number of qualified applicants. Because state and local governments in Virginia and elsewhere have had a lot of financial trouble recently, jobs have been cut and positions left unfilled and it has often been difficult to find work in this field. On the other hand, more managers will be needed in medical and health services and prospects in this sector look very good through 2010. In general, because administrators are needed in such a wide variety of organizations and institutions, people in this field are usually able to apply their skills somewhere.
Salaries in this field vary greatly. Employees working in local government tend to make less than those working for the federal government, and those working in non-profit organizations can earn salaries all over the map, depending on the size and wealth of their institutions.
According to a 2005 survey of The Nonprofit Times, administrators in non-profit agencies made between $40,000 and $100,000 a year in 2002. CEOS at organizations with revenue of more than $25 million received the highest pay in 2004, about $181,000, compared to other budget sizes. In federal jobs, pay is strictly organized by grades and steps.
A person with a master’s degree in public administration enters the pay scale at GS-9 or higher. The lowest salary in this range is about $38,000 a year. The top scale GS-15 salary is about $119,000 a year. Administrators in city government can make between $46,000 and $88,000 a year.
Job Postings
