nonprofit management

Author: Katherine Jurak, Kent State University

A Master of Public Administration career, and others in the nonprofit sector, present incredible opportunities to identify specific needs in a community and find ways to solve them.

There are many reasons to choose to pursue a career in the public sector rather than in the business world. Often, people are drawn to public or nonprofit careers because doing so gives them an opportunity to do good and enact change for the better.

When you think of nonprofits, what organizations first come to mind? You might initially think of Doctors Without Borders, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Red Cross or UNICEF. According to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), nonprofit organizations include any organization that is not organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, and does not promise any net holdings to the benefit of any private shareholders or individuals.1

As with jobs in all industries, jobs in the public sector have certain advantages and disadvantages. While each person might have their own opinion of what constitutes a positive or negative aspect of any career, read on for our take on the pros and cons of working in the public sector.

According to The Balance Small Business, a website providing guidance on entrepreneurship and management, economies of countries including the United States are divided between public and private sectors (or sections), for the purpose of considering economic activity and the contribution of each sector to the gross domestic product. The basic distinction between the two sectors? “Businesses that make a profit commonly represent the private sector, while government agencies tend to represent the public sector.”

COVID-19 has disrupted every facet of life, especially the working lives of countless people across the globe. National and statewide lockdowns have caused mass shutdowns, layoffs and furloughs. There have been upheavals in work schedules, changes in work locations and often simultaneous struggles to meet children’s educational needs at home. Dealing with this strange new reality has been challenging, to say the least. Across the public and private sectors, organizations have scrambled to navigate chaotic work environments. Stepping out of back offices and into center spotlights, the leaders of human resources management are transforming HR, rising to meet the new and pressing needs of today’s disrupted workforces.

One of the best things about working in the public sector is that it gives you many ways to make a difference in your community, no matter what role you fill. You can be confident that you’ll be part of an organization or government body that has the power to change the world (or at least your community) for the better.