Best Careers 2009: Government Manager

Overview. Unless you're a superstar, a government job is often a terrific deal. If a company doesn't control costs, it will go out of business. Government can always raise taxes or print more money, so it feels able to offer full-time, well-paying positions with generous benefits, including ample holidays, sick days, and vacation days. You're less likely to have to work beyond 9 to 5 and more likely to enjoy lifetime job security because firing is most difficult. What's more, government jobs are unlikely to be off-shored—taxpayers wouldn't be happy if U.S. workers were dumped in favor of those in a far-flung land. While government may have to put up with you forever, you needn't put up with an unpleasant job: If you want to change, you usually get preference over applicants from outside the government. And there will be plenty of jobs to choose from: By 2016, 60 percent of full-time government employees will be eligible for retirement, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. And the Obama administration and more liberal Congress appear to be inclined to increase government spending.

Eighty percent of government employees are managerial and professional, compared with only 25 percent in the private sector. So, management opportunities abound in everything from human resources to finance, research to public relations, and technology to art, with jobs throughout the United States and the world. You might manage public housing or an embassy, an airport or disability services, a park or a prison, urban renewal, or healthcare reform. Also, many government positions involve collaborations with the private or nonprofit sectors.

Yes, being a government manager can bring frustrations. The same overlapping bureaucracies that paralyzed government's response to Hurricane Katrina may restrict your efforts. The same job security that comforts you may constrain you from firing bad employees. And getting hired can take six months or longer.

But corporations facing global competition are getting ever leaner at the same time more and more quality people are choosing a government career as an opportunity for public service. So, a great way to get your tax dollar's worth is to work for the government.

A Day in the Life. You're a manager in your state government's department of environmental monitoring. You spend the morning at the computer putting the finishing touches on proposed carbon reduction regulations that corporations would need to comply with. Tomorrow, you'll present a summary at a meeting with your boss, some coworkers, and representatives from other state agencies, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, environmental groups, and corporations.

After lunch, you spend an hour reviewing your staff members' 30-day spending reports and notice that one person has exceeded his budget—again. That employee also routinely produces shoddy work and turns it in late. Because it's almost impossible to dismiss him, your plan is yet another measured discussion. "I'm concerned about this. Is there something I'm not understanding about why the work isn't getting done, yet your expenses are beyond your budget?" If you don't like his answers, you'll put him on an official "improvement plan."

You end your day with a meeting with your boss, requesting more money for your group's efforts to monitor corporations' compliance with the ever denser thicket of environmental regulations.

Salary Data

Median (with eight years in the field): $58,100

25th to 75th percentile (with eight or more years of experience): $52,000-$94,300

(Data provided by PayScale.com)

Training

Most government management jobs require a master's degree in public administration, business administration, public policy, or a related field, although sometimes a bachelor's degree plus real-world management experience will do. Public-sector work experience may also be required. More information on graduate programs in public administration and affairs is available from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration.

A fast track into desirable federal management jobs is the Presidential Management Fellows Program, which selects hundreds of graduate students a year for the two-year program. You receive a midlevel salary plus full benefits for working at any of 80 federal agencies. After completing the program, you're virtually assured of getting hired as a manager and receive preference if you want to switch jobs.

The U.S. News rankings of public affairs graduate programs show America's top schools for building background in this field.

Learn More

• Government Executive.com
• Partnership for Public Service
• Introducing Public Administration (6th Edition) by Jay Shafritz
• Survey: The Best Government Agencies to Work For
• Ten Steps to a Federal Job (3rd edition, late December 2009) by Kathryn Troutman