Best-Kept-Secret Career: Program Evaluator

program evaluator / analyst for 20+ years

I am an evaluator / analyst. Pay can be good but is based on your statistics skills (Learn SPSS!!!), ability to work with data (excel, access, text, programming, etc), and "social skills". My trainng includes counseling, psychology, biology, health care, education, math (statistics) and life. Knowing how to negotiate the politics and egos of the organization is critical to being hired again. I have worked in health care, education, and finance. I liked health care the best because it is more concrete. In my opinion, education can be very political and finance is cut throat. You easiest career path is go to college - take research design and statisitics courses usually in the psychology department. Epidemiology is also a good program for health care. Organizational psych is good foundation too. Get a job as an research assistant someplace and get some experience. Usually college dept that have grants are most willing to hire you and also train you - even as an undergrad or grad. Work on grants for a few years and then move to a company or college (better pay). Once you have some experience start networking. In this age of accountability many programs/ companies/ grants are looking for evaluators because their funders demand it. Contact the AEA for local evaluators to shadow. 7-10% of a grant budget should be for evaluation - depending on the complexity of the design.

Great career but can be isolated sometimes - much time is spent with your computer.

BZ of NY @ Jun 30, 2009 13:20:22 PM