Who Wants to Work in Government? Mapping Career Pathways into and out of Public Service
Hunter Rendleman, Professor
Political Science
Open. Apprentices needed for the fall semester. Enter your application online beginning August 21st. The deadline to apply is Monday, August 31st, 4pm.
Public service is under strain. Government agencies today face unprecedented political attacks and mounting challenges in attracting and retaining skilled workers. Yet the strength of the state depends on its people: without committed professionals, government cannot carry out its core functions. From public health to law, education, and regulation, a capable bureaucracy is essential not only for basic governance but also for confronting widening socio-economic inequalities. Understanding who chooses to work in government --- and why --- has never been more pressing.
This project investigates the career pathways of people who enter, remain in, or exit public service. We are especially interested in how and when individuals shift between public and private work. Which industries supply talent to government, and which ones absorb it when people leave? How have these 'feeder' and 'receiver' sectors changed over time?
To answer these questions, we will build systematic datasets that trace individual career trajectories, drawing on archival administrative records, CVs, and online platforms. By turning scattered information into structured data, we can better understand how people imagine public service as a career option and how institutional contexts shape those choices.
Role: Research assistants will help to construct the datasets from the ground up. Tasks include:
- Transcription and Coding: Transcribe and code individual-level career records from administrative sources (text, digital) and online platforms.
- Database Construction: Organize and clean data into structured formats suitable for longitudinal analysis.
- Documentation: Maintain detailed records of data sources, coding protocols, and decisions.
- Preliminary Analysis: Produce descriptive statistics and figures that illustrate trends in public-sector career entry and exit.
Students will gain training in how to transform unstructured text into structured social-science data; develop skills in documentation and data management; and engage with ongoing debates about bureaucracy, public service, and state capacity in democracy.
Qualifications: Required:
- Attention to detail and consistency in data entry and transcription.
- Comfort with spreadsheets (Excel/Google Sheets).
- Interest in questions of governance, inequality, and public service.
Preferred:
- Familiarity with R or Python for data wrangling.
Please list the amount of hours per week you'd be able to work in your application.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Related website: https://www.hunterrendleman.com
Social Sciences