50 Best Things You Can Do with a Public Administration Degree

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A public administration degree is one that can be used in many different industries. However, the majority of people get it to go into administration of some kind or work within the government, it is not limited to that. In fact, with so many options available to you, you may not know where to begin.

These are 50 of the jobs you can get with a public administration degree.

  1. Government Manager. If you want to work in the government, you can find a variety of jobs in the organization including a manager.
  2. Government Distributor. Another government job to look into would be a government distributor.
  3. Civil Service. This role is more people oriented than a government job and you would be working directly with citizens on behalf of the federal government or for an agency.
  4. Administrative Service Manager. In this role, you could work in almost any field and would be responsible for coordinating and planning many different services.
  5. Executive Director. This is a role that is equivalent to a CEO except it is in a non-profit setting. You could focus on things like advocacy and civic duties while running the entire organization.
  6. Consultant. You can go into consulting for public administration and provide some recommendations to other businesses. You can do this on your own or through a company.
  7. Program Analyst. Instead of being a consultant for the entire organization, you could focus on analyzing a particular program and help to make it better for them.
  8. Program Director. One step up from the previous job is Program Director. With this role, you would be responsible for several, if not all, of the programs within a non-profit.
  9. Director of Development. You can be in charge of all money raised in an organization and focus on development in this role.
  10. City Manager. Want to be more involved in your local city? You can do that as a city manager and effectively run the local government like a business.
  11. Mayor. This is another local role that is available to you but this is one where you must be elected. To be successful in the election, you should start with having plenty of leadership and other results to your name.
  12. Intern. If you are just starting out, you can apply for an internship with a non-profit, on an election committee, and other areas.
  13. Foreign Service Officer. If you are interested in working abroad for the government, this is a good role within the U.S. Department of State and you will spend your time promoting our interests abroad.
  14. Housing Specialist. This is a good role if you want to help people get their home but do not want to be in real estate or work for a bank. You will help people find affordable housing.
  15. Case Manager. This is a role that allows you to help people in their specific situation with finances and medical issues. You would help them through their case.
  16. Budget Analyst. If you want to be in public administration as well as work with numbers, this is a good option for you because you will work to manage the budget for non-profits.
  17. Urban Planner or Regional Planner. In this role, you will help decide how to be use money and other resources in a region. This tends to be a government position and you will work to provide the government with recommendations on roads, infrastructure projects, and even school projects. You may want to consider a certification for this role too.
  18. City Planner. This is a very similar type of role as the one listed above except it is done on a smaller scale. Instead of working regionally, you will be working at a city level.
  19. Research Associate. This is a role that you can take on early in your career and you would conduct research, interview people, and gather other materials for a project.
  20. Field Examiner. In this role, you would be responsible for conducting field examinations. These would be done to appoint fiduciaries for the legally disabled.
  21. U.S. Secretary. This is a role that you will have to build up to but you can definitely work your way up to this level. It is an appointed position by the President of the United States but many people aim for this type of role eventually.
  22. Association Leader. In this role, you would be the leader of a non-profit or charity to ensure it runs well and that the goals are met.
  23. Transportation Manager. If you want to help with transportation around your city, then you should consider this role because it will allow you to manage transportation and help make things better around your town.
  24. Parks and Recreation Manager. In this role. you would be responsible for managing all of the parks and recreation areas in your city. This would also include plans for creating new ones or upgrading areas.
  25. Law Enforcement. You can also choose to go into law enforcement with this degree. You will need to get some extra schooling but this will give you a good base and will allow you to move up in ranks.
  26. Budget and Fiscal Manager. This is another role that would be a good option if you like numbers because you can manage the budget for an organization or local government in this role.
  27. Utilities Management. In this role, you would be responsible for managing utilities options and infrastructure in the area. This would include the lines for the utilities and making sure everything is up to code.
  28. Waste Management. This is a very similar type of role to the prior one except instead of focusing on utilities management, you would focus on waste management in your area.
  29. Fundraiser. In order to keep a non-profit going, there has to be some sort of fundraising happening. In this role, you would play a key role in fundraising whether you focus on working the events or helping manage them.
  30. Grant Writer. In this type of role, you would be responsible for writing grant proposals to submit and earn more money for the cause.
  31. Legal Assistant. If you like the legal side of things, you can work as a legal assistant in the field.
  32. Advocate. If you do not want to do fundraising but do want to be an advocate for a cause, then this is the role for you. You would spend your time fighting for a cause and being the face of it.
  33. Administrative Assistant. This is a role where you can make a big impact behind the scenes. You can serve as an administrative assistant to a variety of different roles and help them with day to day tasks.
  34. Executive Assistant. This is a step up from the administrative assistant role and would allow you to essentially do everything in that role plus be a thought partner to the person that you are supporting.
  35. Volunteer Coordinator. In this role, you would be responsible for coordinating volunteers for your events or for the non-profit in general to help make a bigger impact.
  36. Volunteer Director. In this role, you would take it one step further than the volunteer coordinator role and you would not only manage volunteers but also try to develop them. You could provide trainings and help them to see more value in what they are doing.
  37. Higher Education Assistant. This is a position where you can help someone who is focused on teaching people who are trying to get this degree. You can help in a variety of ways.
  38. Higher Education Teacher. If you want to actually be the person teaching the students, then this is the role for you. Keep in mind, however, that you will need to get a higher degree for this role.
  39. Compliance Administrator. You can become a compliance administrator in many different companies. You would be responsible for ensuring that all compliance rules are followed within the company.
  40. Legal Counselor. You can also provide legal counsel to companies and organizations in this role. You can do this for a company, law firm, or on your own.
  41. Operations Analyst. If you want to help the non-profit run better, you can analyze the way it is run in this role and them make recommendations.
  42. Marketing Management. You probably did not think you could go into marketing management in this role but it is actually a very common option.
  43. Lobbyist. In this role, you would likely find a cause that you strongly support and spend your time lobbying for something to be done to help it by the government. You would also be responsible for writing bills for approval.
  44. Director of International Activities. This is another role that is good for someone that likes to travel or find ways to bring the world closer together. In this role, you would be responsible for managing international activities for an organization.
  45. Director of Government Relations. Even if you do not want to work directly in the government, you can help an organization manage their relations with the organization in this role.
  46. Chief Financial Officer. You can work hard and eventually become the CFO of an organization as long as you like numbers and can analyze them. Of course, a lot more goes into this role but it is an eventual option with plenty of experience.
  47. Human Resources Management. If you like people this is a role that you can have that will ensure you are constantly working with people and helping them to understand benefits, ensure policy is followed, and much more.
  48. Community Health Educator. If you want to help your community become more educated on health options and what they can do to protect themselves, this is a good option for you.
  49. Director of Publishing. This is a role you can have in a variety of settings. You would be responsible for publishing findings and other things to bring more publicity to the organization.
  50. Public Relations Administrator. This is another role responsible for ensuring that all positive news about the organization is released to the public. This includes writing the news pieces and doing everything possible to ensure that they are published on behalf of the organization and in a timely manner.
Written by Robert Sanchez

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