Comments on: New investment in diplomacy = new jobs in diplomacy http://workingworldcareers.com/2009/04/22/new-investment-in-diplomacy-new-jobs-in-diplomacy/ Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development Sun, 02 Nov 2014 14:17:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Laura http://workingworldcareers.com/2009/04/22/new-investment-in-diplomacy-new-jobs-in-diplomacy/comment-page-1/#comment-90 Laura Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:32:05 +0000 https://digitalcommons.georgetown.edu/blogs/workingworld/?p=721#comment-90 To add to Alanna's point: PMF salaries are variable and definitely not always higher than what you could find elsewhere in government or other development jobs. Just depends on the agency you end up with and what GS level you begin with. Some offer some student loan forgiveness (an excellent perk, obviously), but many others don't. Another important consideration: not all Federal Agencies or programs use PMF. You can't become a State Dept foreign service officer under PMF (although State does have other PMF positions), and the GAO (Govt Accountability Office) has no PMF program at all, for example. To add to Alanna’s point: PMF salaries are variable and definitely not always higher than what you could find elsewhere in government or other development jobs. Just depends on the agency you end up with and what GS level you begin with. Some offer some student loan forgiveness (an excellent perk, obviously), but many others don’t.

Another important consideration: not all Federal Agencies or programs use PMF. You can’t become a State Dept foreign service officer under PMF (although State does have other PMF positions), and the GAO (Govt Accountability Office) has no PMF program at all, for example.

]]> By: Mark Overmann http://workingworldcareers.com/2009/04/22/new-investment-in-diplomacy-new-jobs-in-diplomacy/comment-page-1/#comment-88 Mark Overmann Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:07:08 +0000 https://digitalcommons.georgetown.edu/blogs/workingworld/?p=721#comment-88 Thanks, Alanna. A good reminder that a PMF or a Master's doesn't necessarily equal higher pay in our fields, especially if you don't have much work experience. I came out of a two year Master's program with only one year of experience (teaching English abroad in China) and expected that the position/salary levels I could command would be much higher than they actually were--many of my classmates had the same expectation and had those expectations duly dashed with offers of low-level and low-salaried positions, not the higher up stuff we all imagined the Master's degree guaranteed us. It's only now that I'm four years removed from my Master's and deeper into my career that I'm really starting to see my higher degree pay off, in terms of position and salary level. But in terms of the PMF, you're right-- while it does vault you into the government to a higher (GS/salary level) than you might get without it, it doesn't guarantee riches by any means, and many people might have more success with the route you propose. Thanks, Alanna. A good reminder that a PMF or a Master’s doesn’t necessarily equal higher pay in our fields, especially if you don’t have much work experience. I came out of a two year Master’s program with only one year of experience (teaching English abroad in China) and expected that the position/salary levels I could command would be much higher than they actually were–many of my classmates had the same expectation and had those expectations duly dashed with offers of low-level and low-salaried positions, not the higher up stuff we all imagined the Master’s degree guaranteed us. It’s only now that I’m four years removed from my Master’s and deeper into my career that I’m really starting to see my higher degree pay off, in terms of position and salary level.

But in terms of the PMF, you’re right– while it does vault you into the government to a higher (GS/salary level) than you might get without it, it doesn’t guarantee riches by any means, and many people might have more success with the route you propose.

]]> By: Alanna http://workingworldcareers.com/2009/04/22/new-investment-in-diplomacy-new-jobs-in-diplomacy/comment-page-1/#comment-87 Alanna Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:28:28 +0000 https://digitalcommons.georgetown.edu/blogs/workingworld/?p=721#comment-87 One other thing to remember about PMF is that it doesn't pay that much. Salaries are about 45K. If you had some work experience before you went for your Master's, you can do better elsewhere in terms of the money. One other thing to remember about PMF is that it doesn’t pay that much. Salaries are about 45K. If you had some work experience before you went for your Master’s, you can do better elsewhere in terms of the money.

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