Word: career
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...These men and women may seem like inspiration for a Harvard graduate to pass over Wall Street or med school for a cozy cubicle at the Pentagon. But a closer look at the career paths of these appointees points motivated students in a different direction. Many of Obama’s Harvard picks moved into their elite roles laterally, from top positions in related fields, rather than through the government apparatus itself...
...stands, many government head honchos are there by way of other fields, such as academia, business, or law. Sunstein, the new head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, for instance, spent 90 percent of his professional career at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law Schools. The new associate attorney general, law school grad Thomas J. Perelli, started out in top D.C. law firm Jenner & Block...
...Such external appointments are daily business in the public sector. They are not inherently bad—indeed, few would doubt that Sunstein, the most frequently cited legal scholar in America, is not qualified for his post. However, these indirect career paths do discourage bright, ambitious students from signing on for a career in public service...
...Such students do not want to work in a field where in-house opportunities for career advancement are so uncertain. No matter how passionately we feel about public service, dismal-looking advancement opportunities packaged with lower salaries and a lack of immediate prestige make this field a difficult choice. No number of info sessions by OCS or heartfelt appeals from the commencement dais will change this...
...Rather, if public service is to become a more attractive option, the government must ensure that career advancement is a real possibility. Here, some inspiration may be taken from the elite military academies. The prestige and concrete career boost conferred on West Point graduates—they start out as second lieutenants after graduation, rather than privates—motivates students and assures them of being properly valued in the military...