Princeton graduate students are becoming increasingly worried about internships, jobs, and funding as uncertainty grows among government and federally supported organizations.
These worries follow a slew of executive orders which have paused federal funding, froze civil service hiring, and slashed funding from the National Institute of Health, which supported University researchers. In conversations with The Daily Princetonian, students and faculty members discussed a wide range of potential impacts on people working and interning in public service.
Patrick McCabe GS, a first-year Master of Public Administration (MPA) student who worked in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) before coming to Princeton, expressed worries about the future of public service workers. The Trump administration has drastically slashed the agency’s workforce and funding over the past several weeks.
“I think there are people who really want to be doing this work, who want to either be working in government or who want to work with a lot of organizations that were receiving funding to keep doing their work, and this will definitely have an impact on people who saw their futures working in public service,” he said.
Sylvia Skerry GS, a second-year MPA student, shared concerns regarding the current employment atmosphere in Washington, D.C. with the ‘Prince.’
“Some of the concerns that have come up … that people who are getting fired from the federal government, or who were just laid off as part of the transition, are going to be descending on to the liberal cities of the United States and filling up … job vacancies,” Skerry told the ‘Prince.’ “We’re worried about a crowded job market with all of the federal layoffs and people altering their paths away from D.C.”
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) Professor Ali Nouri GS ’06, who was Deputy Assistant to former President Joe Biden and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, shared with the ‘Prince’ that one of the most important things for students during this time is to be flexible and adaptable in their career search than what’s been need in the past.
“There is a very challenging environment where we’re seeing many of these very agencies that our students thought they were going to be working in being diminished and even dismantled,” Nouri added. “If the administration continues to pursue its plans and its current actions, then it’s really important to look elsewhere.”
Many of the Princeton students affected are in SPIA. David Mayorga, Associate Dean for Public Affairs and Communications, shared in an interview with the ‘Prince’ that SPIA will be supporting its students with career advising, networking opportunities, and panel events aimed at easing any trepidation.
“We are putting together specific paper resources through our online career hub, which is called SPIA Connect, which is available to our graduate students,” Mayorga explained. “It gives them tailored advising, appointments, workshops they can attend, internship opportunities, and all that good stuff.”
“We are actively working with students who have lost opportunities to help them navigate their next steps. Public service takes many forms — whether in think tanks, state and local government, non-governmental organizations, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, foundations, or even the private sector through government partnerships,” Barbara Hampton, Director of Graduate Career Development for SPIA, said.
Administrators are also working to broaden in-person networking opportunities to bridge alumni with students who “have recently lost their jobs or have been thrust into a transition because of the changes in the federal government,” Mayorga said.
The department is also continuing the Dean’s Leadership Series, bringing in alumni who are involved in public service to discuss non-federal opportunities. Some speakers invited include Robert Doar ’83, president of the American Enterprise Institute, and Michael Froman ’85, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, who spoke on Feb. 12 and March 5, respectively.
“You have to adjust and go where the opportunities are, and sometimes that means developing new expertise and exploring new areas,” Nouri explained.
Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including Undergraduate Student Government, the Council of the Princeton University Community, and institutional legacy.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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