Online Associates Degree in Public Administration Can Help You Pursue One of the Hottest Careers in 2012
Public administration is no easy feat. Professionals need to be excellent at multi-tasking and they need to truly understand the environment in which they are working. Such individuals are rare, and the field of Public Administration continues to grow in its demand for educated individuals who can serve the public good. An Associate’s Degree in Public Administration is a broad program designed to introduce students to the world of public …
Public administration is no easy feat. Professionals need to be excellent at multi-tasking and they need to truly understand the environment in which they are working. Such individuals are rare, and the field of Public Administration continues to grow in its demand for educated individuals who can serve the public good.
An Associate’s Degree in Public Administration is a broad program designed to introduce students to the world of public administration and services, and can lead to a more specialized bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral program more in line with the student’s goals. The degree aims to prepare students to be valuable assets to public organizations and to utilize that knowledge to manage, plan and administer public policy. University programs differ in how they treat the program, and what they deem as the most crucial information that students must learn.
Students can complete a:
General Public Administration major,
A Public Administration major with a Law Enforcement emphasis or
A Public Administration major with a Fire Science emphasis.
Pre-requisites
Aspiring students of public administration must be extremely passionate about serving the public, and keen to learn about social problems that their communities face. They have to be driven, well versed in global social policy and committed. Good writing skills and the ability to comprehend complex texts is a definite plus.
The usual time taken to complete an online associate’s degree is two years, although that time frame largely depends on the student, and the workload he/she can bear.
There are three options to choose from:
Associate of Arts in Public Administration
Associate of Science in Public Administration
Associate of Applied Science in Public Administration
Typical Courses of Online Associate’s Degree in Public Administration
A Public Administration Program combines theory and practice, and tries to create graduates who understand ethics, leadership and public policy.
Some courses that make up the program are:
Public Policy Analysis
Organizational Design
Applied Stats
Data Collection
Management
Leadership Theory
Monitoring and Evaluation
Since public administrators need to be well-rounded individuals, communication, interpersonal and writing courses are also taught. They need to know history well, as well as know how to be great critical thinkers.
Career Outlook for Grads With an Online Associate’s Degree in Public Administration
This degree can provide a meaningful career for anyone one based on monetary benefits but also on helping others. You can be a part of something bigger and help build better societies.
The most popular positions are:
Assistant Administrator
An assistant administrator earns a median salary of $54,100 per year. Job growth is expected at average rate.
Policy Analyst
A policy analyst earns between $35,000 and 53,844 per year. Job growth is expected to grow at a faster than average rate, particularly in the area of health care.
Research Analyst
A research analyst earns between $48,750 and $56,250 per year. Job growth is expected at a faster than average rate.
Couple this degree with an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration and you can be certain that a meaningful career is waiting for you.
