Why do so many students who planned on going into public interest end up taking private sector jobs?
Lots of reasons. Some students are lured by the tremendous amount of money in the private sector and figure they will earn a large salary for a few years, then come back to public interest (but see question 6 below for more on that). Some spend the summer working for a firm that seems nice and begin to wonder if maybe firm work really would not be so bad. Some strike a deal with a firm to do a large amount of pro bono work. And finally, many students cannot stand the uncertainty that a public interest job search typically entails. It is difficult to be unemployed in March of your third year when all of your classmates have had their jobs nailed down since December, if not since August. The popularity of fellowships is aided by their earlier acceptances. The lateness of public interest offers, compounded with the rumor that positions are not available, cause those who are risk-averse to jump ship to the very attractive private sector option.
Related Questions
- How is this to be planned, taken forward and funded? Does private sector, official sponsorship or other public sector grant funding need to be secured?
- How can the generous pensions of the public sector be sustained while the private sector pensions evaporate?
- Why do so many students who planned on going into public interest end up taking private sector jobs?
