Government roles within the United Stated include opportunities with federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. In addition there are numerous employment opportunities in the private or nonprofit sectors working on behalf of various government agencies.
For those interested in public service work, it’s important to think about responsible engagement. Review this page on Planning Public Service Projects to learn more about what responsible engagement looks like and how you can develop a plan that aligns well for you and the community you plan to serve.
Evaluate Goals & Job Functions
Interested in contributing to research and crafting legislation? Explore options within the legislative branch. Looking to contribute to environmental or education initiatives? Explore options within the executive agencies and departments. Have a desire to contribute to government policy and functions beyond the scope of direct government hiring? Explore the possibilities of lobbying, public service consulting, and think tanks.
Government entities hire for a multitude of job functional roles, including engineers, urban planners, researchers, scientists, budget analysts, public affairs and communication staff, accountants, technology specialists, physicians, attorneys, administrative support, and more. The array of agencies and departments in the U.S. and state governments provide ample opportunity for those who are interested in public service work.
Federal Resumes
A federal resume is often over 4-5 pages, and more extensively covers your work experience than other resumes. It includes all work and volunteer experiences, regardless of their direct relevance, because eligibility is determined based on the information in your resume. If sufficient detail is not provided, it may be determined that you do not meet the minimum qualifications.
Use the resume builder on USAJobs. Start by transferring information from your current resume and expand it to include greater detail. Follow the STAR method. Use as many bullets as needed and tailor your resume for each position. In USAJobs, you can “duplicate” your base resume, edit it for a specific posting, and save multiple versions. Refer to the job posting when tailoring your resume and describe exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications. Don’t worry about the style of the resume builder, it is the one most used by federal hiring managers. Visit GoGovernment for more advice. Read this recent article, How to Write a Federal Resume in 2024 for more tips.
Click the buttons below to check out the recordings from the on-campus visit of the Partnership for Public Service in November 2023:
Yale students should search the Yale Student Grants & Fellowships for Yale-funding for public service opportunities. Create a profile in ProFellow to find fellowships for educational pursuits, go abroad, conduct research, or discover employment opportunities. Consider pursuing these nationally-competitive Fellowships:
The Pathways Program offers federal internship and employment opportunities for current students, recent graduates, and those with an advanced degree. These programs are named: Internship Programs, Recent Graduates, and the Presidents Management Fellowship (PMF) program. Search for Pathways Program opportunities through USAJobs.gov.
Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) is available in some agencies for subsequent employment opportunities with the U.S. Government. Learn more about the U.S. Study Abroad programs that offer Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) here, and for Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers here.
Foreign Service Careers
U.S. diplomats in the Foreign Service promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the United States abroad. The U.S. Department of State offers worldwide career opportunities in international public service. U.S. Foreign Service Officers represent the United States in diplomatic and ambassadorial roles, connect with the global community, and explore different cultures while living overseas.
FSO Compass provides courses and resources to prepare for the Foreign Service Officer Test.
Conflict Resolution & Peace Negotiation
Long-term career plans within this career path usually include a graduate degree in this field. Interested students should pursue opportunities at organizations that handle conflict to build experience and frame their research pursuits around related topics . Below are recommended readings and resources:
The U.S. Military consists of six branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force. Additionally, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority. Visit the Department of Defense website to learn details of each branch and reserve unit.
Colleges and Universities nationwide offer the Reserve Officer Training Corps, which pay for students’ tuition and prepares them to be military officers. In return, students commit to serving in the military afterward. Yale ROTC provides details for the Yale Air Force, Army, and Naval ROTC programs.
Campaign Work
Political campaign work builds professional skills in a flexible, fast-paced, and fluid environment. Those who work on campaigns gain knowledge of policy issues, the electoral process, campaign management and funding, and the overarching concerns of the American populace.
The Campaign School at Yale University offers events and programs throughout the year to train underrepresented individuals as they pursue elected and appointed political positions.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve …
By Stanley Willard Jr.
Stanley Willard Jr.Assistant Director of Employer Relations
Students! Get your resumes ready, OPM is hiring summer 2025 interns!
Announcements will be open Friday, January 3rd, 2025 so set up your saved search on USAJOBS to get alerted and a reminder so you can get your application in!
…
By Jorimel Zaldivar
Jorimel ZaldivarSenior Associate Director for Common Good Careers
Firsthand helps students, professionals, and job-seekers find the right career path through career exploration and connections with mentors and employers.
Search continually updated U.S. market trends to learn about job types (job functions), growth trends, and desired skills. The results will include general information about each job (functional area), employment trends from the past two years and projections for the next 10 years, employers that have that role, desired education level, skills for the position, and more!
TWO WAYS TO SEARCH:
Find Career Data by Selecting Keywords: Enter keywords of various job titles and choose a state or search nationwide to learn more about that job.
Filter by Industry and Occupation: Search by industry and choose among popular occupations/job titles within that industry.
First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)
Type in a keyword to select a relevant occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)
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Occupation Description
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Employment Trends
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Top Employers
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Education Levels
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Annual Earnings
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Technical Skills
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Core Competencies
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Job Titles
Occupation Description
Employment Trends
The number of jobs in the career for the past two years, the current year, and projections for the next 10 years. Job counts include both employed and self-employed persons, and do not distinguish between full- and part-time jobs. Sources include Emsi industry data, staffing patterns, and OES data.
Top Employers
These companies are currently hiring for .
Education Levels
The educational attainment percentage breakdown for a career (e.g. the percentage of people in the career who hold Bachelor’s Degrees vs. Associate Degrees). Educational attainment levels are provided by O*NET.
Annual Earnings
Earnings figures are based on OES data from the BLS and include base rate, cost of living allowances, guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay (including commissions and bonuses), on-call pay, and tips.
Technical Skills
A list of hard skills associated with a given career ordered by the number of unique job postings which ask for those skills.
Core Competencies
The skills for the career. The "importance" is how relevant the ability is to the occupation: scale of 1-5. The "level" is the proficiency required by the occupation: scale of 0-100. Results are sorted by importance first, then level.
Job Titles
A list of job titles for all unique postings in a given career, sorted by frequency.
Development Programs, Volunteer, & Other Experiences
The Office of Career Strategy collects information about Yale College graduates. This tool allows users to search outcomes by year and major. Please visit Statistics & Reports for more information on our data collection.
Helpful Tips for the Interactive Tool:
There is no Enter or Submit Button, results will appear automatically
The default search is ‘All Years’ or ‘All Majors.’ Choose specific years or majors for more granular results. Uncheck the selected major(s) to reset your search.
The tool returns results with at least five responses. For small majors, choose ‘All Years’ is to show results
To ensure confidentiality, results are reported in the aggregate
First Destination summaries are based on the Knowledge Rate of graduate outcomes six months after graduation according to National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) guidelines.
Knowledge Rate, defined by NACE, includes direct survey responses and basic employment or graduate school information confirmed through LinkedIn. Yale’s information below on Starting Salary and Time of Year Offer Received is based only on direct survey responses.
90.3% of those graduating between July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023.
94.0% employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation
$89,622 among graduates employed full-time in the United States
Education, Financial Services, Technology, Consulting, and Healthcare
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First Destination
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Top Employers
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Employment Industry and Function
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Size of the Organization
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Starting Salary
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Time of Year Offer Received
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Internships, Research, and Study Abroad Experiences
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First Destination Locations
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Top Universities
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Advanced Degrees Pursued
First Destination
First Destination refers to the postgraduate plans of Yale College graduates six months after graduation. The pursuits of Yale graduates include employment, graduate school, independent research, military service, and more.
Top Employers
This list of employers shows organizations that hired the most graduates in the selected year and/or major. Please note employers are listed first in the order of those that hired the most graduates but are listed in alphabetical order if the same number of graduates were hired in the same year or major. This list changes annually, and the Office of Career Strategy works closely with employers across industries and functional areas.
Employment Industry and Function
It is notable that no single industry or functional area attracts Yale graduates as a critical mass, which is consistent with Yale’s liberal arts education through which graduates gain valuable skills desirable to many roles. Use the tabs below to view both function and industry choices.
Yale graduates choose employers of all sizes and typically only about half of the graduates in each class choose the largest size employers (501+ employees).
Starting Salary
The salary information below includes only salaries self-reported by graduates employed full-time in the U.S. and does not include bonuses or other forms of compensation.
Time of Year Offer Received
Although graduates report accepting their post-graduate positions throughout their senior year, typically 50% of graduates secure their full-time position in the spring of senior year or later.
Internships, Research, and Study Abroad Experiences
Yale students pursue an array of activities, including study abroad, research, and internships, and many receive funding from Yale for these endeavors. The following charts show the percentage of Yale students who undertook (1) credit-bearing study abroad experiences, (2) summer research opportunities, (3) summer internships, and (4) received summer funding.
When considering an entire Class, the majority remain in the U.S., while on average more than 10% reside outside of the country.
NOTE: Hover over each state to see the percentage of graduates in that state. Grey indicates no graduates from this class year.
United States
World
Top Universities
The list below shows Universities most often attended by graduates in the selected year, however, Yale alums enroll in programs around the world. In the case where there are a significant number of graduates enrolled in a Professional School at a University, that School may be listed separately (for example Yale School of Public Health and Yale University).
Advanced Degrees Pursued
The chart below shows the graduate degrees being pursued immediately after graduation. Each year, more than 70% of Yale College graduates employed immediately after graduation indicate they intend to pursue a graduate degree in the next five years.
We don’t have enough student data to show you these results.
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