Paths to International Public Service: The Service-Choice Spiral and Implications for Graduate Education Programs

Abstract

Increasingly, students express a desire to take an active role in addressing the economic, social, healthcare and other problems facing the world, and they seek a path leading to international or domestic public service.The field of public administration has been a major route to public service, as has the growing nonprofit management specialization and the subfield of development management.This paper offers insight into the skills, competencies, and value issues that face students who are pursuing careers in international development and introduces the concept of a service-choice spiral that shows the four steps through which a new or mid-career development manager progresses.The four steps are mutually reinforcing, leading to an expansion of personal and professional development and career options.