Introduction to policy careers | Emerging Technology Policy Careers-kmnewsmedia

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2025-11-29

Introduction to policy careers | Emerging Technology Policy Careers

This guide introduces key concepts in public policy and overviews career opportunities in the field. We’ll explore what policy is, how it’s made, why you might want to work in policy, and how to navigate career paths in the policy world.

While focused on US federal policy, many insights apply broadly to policy work at other levels of government (e.g. at the international and state-level). If you’re new to the policy world—at any career stage—this guide can serve as your starting point.

What is public policy?

Public policy encompasses all government decisions and actions (or deliberate inactions) to address public issues.¹ In the US, this includes legislation, executive orders, agency actions to implement and enforce laws, court decisions, and government spending choices that shape society.

While often viewed narrowly as a set of rules to govern behavior—like speed limits or product regulations—public policy extends far beyond laws and regulations. It includes government decisions about what to purchase from the private sector, comments made by the Federal Reserve, presidential remarks at international forums, public funding for university researchers or contractors, voluntary industry standards for emerging technologies, and much more. These diverse policy tools have huge consequences on real-world outcomes.

Policies vary across many dimensions, from authority to enforceability and permanence. Laws passed by Congress, for example, have the most lasting power and set the boundaries for other types of policy. Federal agencies can only take actions within their congressional authority, and presidential executive orders—despite their immediate impact—can be easily reversed when a new president takes office.

But policy doesn’t need to be legally binding or permanent to drive real-world change. Government bodies and private entities (like companies) often adjust their behavior based on non-binding signals—from congressional hearings to proposed legislation to agency guidance, or even recommended best practices.² Even international agreements, which often lack formal enforcement, can drive major changes—as seen in the global eradication of smallpox and significant reductions in chemical and nuclear weapons.

In short, public policy is not only a set of hard, enforceable rules but a complex ecosystem of formal and informal mechanisms through which governments shape behavior, guide markets, coordinate action between parties, and work to achieve societal objectives.

How is policy made?

Policy change occurs through many channels—formal legislative debates, court hearings, National Security Council meetings, agency rulemaking, and international forums, among many venues. Even informal discussions between officials or staff can drive significant policy shifts.³

While elected officials and agency leaders make major strategic decisions and publicly represent policies, policymaking doesn’t happen only at the top levels of government. Staff often play a central role in the process, from informing legislation to drafting bill text, preparing briefings, and often even conceiving the initial ideas for major policies.

The process of creating and implementing public policy is complex and iterative, but we can break it down into four main phases:⁴

Phase	1. Policy research	2. Policy advocacy	3. Policy adoption	4. Policy implementation
What is it?	Research to identify problems and develop policy proposals	Building support for policy proposals	Formally adopting policy proposals via official channels	Translating policies into action through programs, spending, and enforcement
Who’s involved inside the government?	Congress White House Agencies National labs	Congress White House Agencies	Congress White House Agencies	Agencies
Who’s involved outside the government?	Think tanks NGOs Universities Contractors	Think tanks NGOs Universities Industry groups Labor unions	––	Contractors

Research underpins effective policy proposals.⁵ While think tanks and universities are well-known for this work—and busy government staff often rely on their analysis—substantial research also happens inside the government. Congressional committees and support agencies, the national labs, presidential task forces, government agencies, and interagency working groups are among the many entities conducting policy research to identify key issues, explore solutions, and assess potential impacts.
Advocacy transforms policy ideas into actionable proposals and builds momentum for their adoption via relevant legal channels. While often associated with interest groups and lobbyists, advocacy also happens inside government—for example, congressional staffers advocate for their senators’ or representatives’ legislation, agencies promote funding priorities to Congress, and the White House pushes administration policies across government. Coalition-building is fundamental to advocacy efforts, as successful policies often require buy-in from multiple actors.
Adoption turns policy proposals into official government directives through established channels. This stage includes legislators debating and voting on bills, Congress passing the budget, the president signing executive orders, and agencies publishing rules and regulations. While advocacy focuses on building support and happens both internally and externally, adoption involves formal government procedures and involves only governmental actors (typically elected or appointed officials).⁶
Implementation turns written directives—once adopted—into real-world actions. Implementation can involve executing government programs, providing funding, monitoring compliance, enforcing rules, creating technical guidance, and more. This ranges from enforcing export controls on sensitive technologies to coordinating with state health departments on outbreak preparedness to conducting security audits of AI systems. Public debates often focus heavily on policy creation, but even well-designed policies can fail—or face major setbacks—if executed poorly.⁷

While policymaking generally involves all four stages, the specific steps can vary greatly. Below are several examples of how policies can originate, develop, pass, and be executed—each step is important and offers opportunities for policy professionals to improve policy outcomes. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with the specific processes described here, they’re included to showcase the diversity of pathways for policy change.

Policymaking process examples

Example 1: Export controls

Research: The intelligence community (CIA, NSA, etc.) identifies security risks from sensitive technology exports and briefs senior policymakers. The White House National Security Council convenes representatives from the Departments of Defense, State, Energy, and Commerce to assess the risks and explore regulatory responses under existing law, and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) drafts initial export control language.
Advocacy: The proposed export controls go through an interagency review, where different departments advocate for modifications to the proposal based on security concerns and industry impact. A public comment period opens, allowing industry stakeholders, researchers, and advocacy groups to provide technical feedback and propose revisions. Members of Congress, particularly those on relevant committees (e.g. Armed Services, Foreign Affairs), may weigh in, supporting or opposing controls based on constituent interests. The White House may also engage in diplomatic discussions with allies to encourage multilateral coordination on similar export restrictions.
Adoption: After reviewing all feedback and making appropriate revisions, senior administration officials formally approve the export control measures. The Secretary of Commerce signs off on the final rule, officially establishing the new export restrictions under the authority granted by existing legislation such as the Export Control Reform Act. BIS publishes the final rule in the Federal Register.
Implementation: The Commerce Department establishes compliance guidelines, Customs and Border Protection develops enforcement procedures, and the State Department works with international partners to align restrictions where possible. Government agencies monitor compliance, conduct audits, and take enforcement actions against violations.

Example 2: Biotechnology research funding

Research: The National Science Foundation (NSF) identifies gaps in its biotechnology research portfolio and submits a formal funding request to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which coordinates cross-agency biotechnology investments with input from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Advocacy: The White House includes the biotechnology funding request in the president’s annual budget proposal to Congress. Biotech researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions advocate for increased investment, testifying at congressional hearings and engaging with lawmakers. Key congressional committees responsible for appropriating funding evaluate the proposals.
Adoption: Congress debates the merits of biotechnology investments during budget hearings and committee markups. After negotiations between the House and Senate, legislators vote to approve a spending package that includes dedicated funding for biotechnology research priorities. The president signs the legislation into law, officially authorizing the funding allocations.
Implementation: Once Congress passes the spending package, agencies like NSF, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration allocate funds through grant programs, research initiatives, and public-private partnerships. Federal agencies establish funding priorities, solicit proposals, and award grants to universities, research laboratories, and industry partners.

Why work in public policy?

Making a difference

Working in policy offers unique opportunities to shape solutions to major societal challenges. Because the stakes of public policy are so large, even small changes—whether in legislative language, agency rules, or budget allocations—can profoundly affect millions of lives. As a former US Congressional Budget Office Director put it, “public policy has great power, both to improve people’s lives if it is planned and executed well and to cause significant suffering if it is not.”

The US government—with its $6 trillion budget and over 3 million employees—has extraordinary reach. Its decisions shape markets, influence other nations, and determine responses to national challenges. Behind these consequential choices are countless public servants who, though rarely in headlines, profoundly influence how policies work in practice.

There’s a saying in government that “people are policy”—even the best policy ideas only create impact through individual decisions and actions about how to interpret, shape, communicate, and implement them. This explains why government staffing—from political appointments to civil service hiring—receives such careful attention and why talent shortages can critically impact program success.

While senior officials often make headlines for major policy decisions, you don’t need to be in a senior position to contribute meaningfully. Senator Ted Kennedy once said “Ninety-five percent of the nitty-gritty work of drafting bills and negotiating [their final form] is now done by staff.”⁸ Though formal responsibilities grow throughout a policy career, opportunities for impact can emerge at any level—especially for those who proactively seek ways to improve decision-making, service delivery, or policy implementation.

There are countless examples of public servants having created lasting impact:⁹

Dr. Matthew Meselson’s research and advocacy in the 1960s catalyzed President Nixon’s decision to renounce biological weapons in 1969 and directly led to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention—a landmark treaty prohibiting biological weapons that now includes over 185 nations.
Abe Sutton designed the Trump administration’s comprehensive kidney care initiative that transformed treatment options for Americans with kidney disease through expanded home care, increased organ donation, and better prevention.
Mark Bollinger and Todd Shrader led the recovery and overhaul of the US’ only deep geological repository for defense-related nuclear waste after a major radiological release on the site, implementing major safety and contractor oversight reforms that improved nuclear waste management practices nationwide.
Eric Van Gieson designed and led the rapid development of the Containerized BioContainment System, a mobile ICU for transporting Ebola patients, which was built in just six weeks and later became a critical asset in US pandemic response efforts, including COVID-19.
Todd Moss and Ben Leo turned an initial concept—through years of research, advocacy, and coalition building—into what became the US International Development Finance Corporation, an $8 billion agency expanding America’s international development tools.

While these achievements gained public recognition, many policy success stories unfold quietly with little public attention. Policy windows may shift unpredictably, so success often depends on groundwork laid years before public and political momentum align.

The US government has long shaped technological progress through both innovation and oversight. Its investments and partnerships helped create the internet, GPS, and semiconductors, while its regulations protected public safety—from restricting harmful substances like CFCs to establishing crucial safety standards for aviation and pharmaceuticals. This dual role in advancing beneficial technologies while managing risks continues today, reflected in the government’s investments in emerging technologies like AI, biotech, and cyber.

Despite its significant potential for impact, policy work often faces political and institutional constraints. Policy can move at a frustratingly slow pace, with changes sometimes taking years or even decades to fully pass or implement. Political environments can shift unpredictably, occasionally reversing hard-won progress as administrations or priorities change. Complex bureaucratic structures and competing interests may also create obstacles to innovative policy approaches, requiring patience and creativity to navigate setbacks.

Personal fulfillment

Public servants often find their work deeply personally fulfilling. If you care passionately about certain issues, the opportunity to address these challenges through policy can be highly motivating, even when progress is incremental or faces setbacks. Many of your colleagues will likely share this commitment to making a difference.

Government jobs generally offer stability and solid benefits.¹⁰ While salaries are often lower than private sector equivalents, they generally exceed nonprofit and academic compensation. There are exceptions—entry-level congressional staff face low pay and election-cycle uncertainty, and political appointees change with administrations. Some skills and professional development gained in public service are also highly transferable to the private sector, and transitions between government and industry are common.¹¹

While federal salaries generally track market rates, some specialized roles—particularly in emerging technologies—face significant private-sector pay gaps. This creates talent shortages in areas where government agencies urgently need expertise. For those with technical backgrounds, this means opportunities to fill critical needs while contributing your skills to public service.

At the same time, policy careers can pose personal challenges for some people. Most policy roles are located in DC, creating significant geographic constraints for some. Expectations around professionalism—including restrictions on public statements and formal work environments—can feel limiting. Policy work often involves collaboration with people with different motivations and worldviews, which may be draining for individuals who struggle to maintain productive relationships amid deep disagreements. Progress is often slow or incremental and comes with limited recognition, potentially disappointing those who thrive on regular feedback loops, clear measures of success, or public appreciation.

Understanding policy careers

Public policy work spans a vast range of roles both in and outside government—from congressional staff to agency analysts to think tank researchers. Because “policy” is not a single career path, the key is finding opportunities that match your strengths and interests. This section explains what makes someone a good fit for policy work, explores different ways to specialize—by policy area, lever, or institution—and outlines policy career pathways and advice on launching and advancing your policy career.

Policy fit

Because the policy world encompasses so many types of work and organizations, we think most of our readers could fit well somewhere in this space. The key question is typically not whether you’re suited for policy work in general, but which specific (types of) policy roles best match your skills and interests. Our guide on testing your fit for policy careers discusses how to answer this question in more detail.

Some attributes are valuable across most policy jobs:

Professionalism (both in and out of work)
High openness to working with people with different motivations and worldviews
Being kind and social (crucial for the collaborative, trust-based nature of DC policy work)
Intrinsic motivation (despite slower feedback loops and hard-to-measure progress)
Humility (policy work is often very complex; genuine eagerness to learn can take you far)
Being proactive and entrepreneurial (the biggest policy “wins” often come from people who proactively search for opportunities to improve processes and outcomes)
Willingness to invest in key policy skills (e.g. writing and professional communication)
Having US citizenship (foreign nationals face many limitations to working in US policy)¹²

Beyond these, different roles require distinct attributes—for example, congressional offices often demand strong interpersonal skills and the ability to navigate political environments, while agency positions typically require more comfort working in bureaucratic organizations.

Specializations and types of roles

In policy, you can build expertise in specific policy areas (like AI or biosecurity) or “policy levers” (like regulation or diplomacy), or you can create a distinctive niche by combining both (like AI diplomacy).

The table below illustrates this—you could aim to specialize in a row (policy area), in a column (policy lever), or even a single cell (distinctive niche; some example topics in the table¹³):

We generally recommend combining broad knowledge across various sub-areas in your field with deep, specialized expertise in one particular policy lever. For example, you might specialize in the budget process and work on funding across various AI sub-fields, like AI adoption in government, fundamental AI research, and data center infrastructure.

If you’re early in your career, consider the tradeoffs of early specialization:

Building broad experience across different institutions early in your career often provides valuable career exploration and process learning opportunities and is generally an easier, lower-risk approach.
Conversely, early specialization can fast-track you to the forefront of your field, possibly positioning you as “the person” on a given subject—particularly valuable for neglected intersections of topics likely to gain political traction.¹⁴ While riskier (you might invest significant time in an area that becomes less relevant), this approach may suit those with strong research skills, self-motivation, and sustained interest in a specific topic.

Policy careers often involve multiple pivots—switching between different policy areas, levers, or institutions—but it’s easiest to pivot on only one or two of these dimensions at a time rather than making multiple major shifts simultaneously.

Career pathways

Professional development in policy careers builds on four foundations: skills, knowledge, network, and credentials. While formal training matters, hands-on policy work often provides the most valuable experience—even in roles that aren’t perfectly aligned with your long-term interests.

Key ways to invest in your professional development include:

Work experience:
1. Internships (e.g. Semester in DC programs if you’re a student, or congressional internships)
2. Fellowships across institutions (Congress, think tanks, executive branch) and topic areas (e.g. AI, biosecurity, cyber policy)—a valuable pathway for pivoting from another field
3. Full-time jobs (especially those with a relevant topic focus)
Education:
1. Undergraduate activities (e.g. campus student groups, research assistantships, and relevant coursework)
2. Graduate school (e.g. master’s programs, law school, or PhDs)
Miscellaneous:
1. Networking
2. Self-study of policy processes and topics of interest
3. Skill development (e.g. policy writing, research skills, technical skills for AI policy)
4. Short-term policy programs for learning and networking

The hardest but most critical step is getting your foot in the door. Many early-career professionals, even those with master’s degrees, start as interns while applying for full-time jobs. This internship stage can be brief, and once you gain your first professional experience, you can leverage connections with colleagues, supervisors, and collaborators to transition into subsequent roles. In many cases, securing your first internship or full-time role is the hardest, so we encourage you not to give up too early. Given the professional development boost of an initial policy experience, you should prioritize starting somewhere—even if the role isn’t a perfect fit for your long-term interests.

Policy careers follow many paths—some professionals start with humanities degrees and work their way up through Congress, others transition from STEM PhDs through fellowships, and still others pivot mid-career from industry through graduate programs.¹⁵ A section below highlights next steps you can take depending on your background and career stage.

Where could you work?

The policy world encompasses a vast ecosystem of organizations, offering opportunities for people from many different backgrounds, interests, and skills. The US federal government alone employs over 3 million civilian staff and 1.4 million military personnel. But the policy world extends far beyond government—including hundreds of think tanks, interest groups, contractors, national labs, and other organizations that shape and implement policy. And that’s just the federal level, which interacts continuously with state and local governments and engages internationally with other nations and multilateral institutions.

This section briefly introduces the most critical policy institutions, like:

Executive branch (implements federal policy and programs)
Congress (shapes legislation, spends money, and much more)
Think tanks (conducts policy research and advocacy)
State governments (serves their constituents; state-level policies can inform federal adoption)
Multilateral institutions (supports governance processes to address global challenges)

This guide only scratches the surface—to learn more about working for these institutions, see our in-depth guides linked above.

Executive branch

The executive branch is primarily responsible for implementing and enforcing federal policy. Spanning more than 100 agencies and the White House, the executive branch is by far the biggest and most diverse policy institution.

Its main components are:

The Executive Office of the President (“The White House”): serves as the federal government’s command center, supporting the president’s work through offices like the National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. These offices coordinate policy implementation across the executive branch and provide direct advisory support to the president.
15 executive departments and hundreds of agencies: the executive departments (e.g. State, Defense, Commerce) are led by Cabinet secretaries and form the federal government’s backbone. Each contains specialized sub-agencies—for example, the FBI within the Department of Justice or the FDA within the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, there are many independent federal agencies outside the 15 executive departments with varying degrees of autonomy from direct presidential control (e.g. the Fed, CIA, and NASA).

From directing military operations to setting technical AI standards, the executive branch’s scope is immense. Agencies develop and enforce rules, oversee programs, fund research, manage government services, and coordinate responses to emerging challenges, making them central to nearly all aspects of governance.

The executive branch extends beyond direct government employees. National labs and other research institutions conduct specialized work for agencies like the Department of Defense, contractors provide services ranging from weapons development to IT support (involving hundreds of billions in annual spending), and public-private partnerships—like NIH’s drug development programs—leverage industry expertise.

Most federal employees are career civil servants who serve across administrations, while about 4,000 political appointees—including Senate-confirmed officials—provide strategic leadership. While major decisions typically come from senior levels, how policies actually work often depends on the staff who implement and advise on them.

Compared to Congress, career civil servants typically have deeper policy specialization, more expert colleagues, greater job stability, and more predictable hours.¹⁶ But agencies can be more bureaucratic and emphasize formal credentials more heavily. Agency staff need many of the same skills as congressional staff—including crisis management, coalition-building, and adaptability—but they exercise these in a more structured environment.

Congress

Congress (“The Hill”) makes laws, authorizes federal spending, and oversees the executive branch through its two chambers: the House (435 representatives) and Senate (100 senators). Operating like 535 small businesses—one per member—Congress offers diverse policy opportunities across roughly 10,000 staff positions in several core components:

Personal offices support individual members of Congress. Staff analyze and develop legislation, advocate for their member’s bills, manage communications, and handle constituent services (responding to requests from people the member represents). Most first-time staff start with constituent and administrative work before moving into policy analysis roles.
Committees are usually where the most substantive policy work occurs, including crafting major legislation and conducting oversight of federal agencies. Committee staff (~25% of all congressional staff) are more specialized and better-paid than personal office staff, focusing on specific policy areas without constituent duties.

Working in Congress requires comfort with:

Fast-paced, unpredictable workdays with long hours
Extensive networking and coalition-building across diverse stakeholders
Navigating partisan dynamics and complex political environments
Formal, hierarchical workplace culture
Lower pay and less job security than other DC policy roles

Despite these demands, Congress offers distinct advantages: well-performing staffers can advance rapidly (potentially moving from intern to a substantive, influential policy role in 2-3 years), gain significant responsibility early in their careers, and develop relationships that open doors across the policy world. The Hill particularly suits those who thrive in dynamic environments and enjoy relationship-building, with fewer formal credential requirements than other DC institutions (you typically don’t need a graduate degree). Congressional experience, even as an intern, is highly valued throughout DC and often serves as a stepping stone to more senior positions.

Think tanks

Think tanks shape policy through three main channels:

Research & analysis: Developing policy ideas and publishing research for policymakers and the public
Outreach & advocacy: Engaging policymakers through briefings, media work, and tailored recommendations
Convening & education: Building networks and shaping debates through expert roundtables, congressional or agency staff seminars, and fellowship programs

DC alone hosts well over 100 think tanks. These range from university-style institutions like Brookings and the American Enterprise Institute, to contract research organizations like RAND and the Urban Institute that work primarily on government projects, to advocacy-focused organizations like the Heritage Foundation and the Center for American Progress that advance specific policy agendas. This variety can mean significantly different work experiences across think tanks—older establishments often have more prestige and resources but less nimbleness, ideological orientation shapes both research priorities and workplace culture, and organizational size affects everything from compensation structures to opportunities for leadership roles.

Think tank work typically differs from other institutions in several ways. Compared to Congress or agencies, think tanks offer a less hectic pace and better work-life balance; compared to academia, they emphasize more practical, action-oriented outputs aimed at policymakers; compared to tech companies, many retain more traditional, hierarchical structures and tend to be more risk-averse.

Think tank staffers can face constraints to contributing to policy change: funding can restrict research freedom, and being removed from direct policy execution means think tankers inform but don’t make or execute decisions. The methodical pace of think tank research can sometimes misalign with rapid policy windows, meaning that even high-quality outputs can fail to achieve their intended impact.

Career paths at think tanks also have distinct features. Advancement typically depends on seniority and credentials, though meaningful opportunities exist for junior hires. Rather than staying at think tanks permanently, many professionals use them as stepping stones to government positions or move between think tanks, agencies, and legislative roles throughout their careers.

State governments

State policy roles offer valuable opportunities to shape policy and gain public service experience. Like the federal government, states have executive, legislative, and judicial branches collectively employing millions of people across the US. While governing smaller populations, states often serve as “laboratories of democracy,” pioneering innovative policies that can ultimately influence national decisions.¹⁷ States also frequently implement federal policies (e.g. Medicaid, SNAP benefits, Clean Air Act), often exercising considerable discretion in shaping how these policies affect their constituents.¹⁸

Multilateral institutions and other national governments

Multilateral organizations—from the United Nations and NATO to the OECD—shape global governance through negotiations, policy frameworks, and cross-border agreements. The multilateral ecosystem encompasses international organizations coordinating between states; NGOs and think tanks providing research and technical expertise; and national government roles in diplomacy and foreign policy.

Working in multilateral policy offers distinct opportunities for professional development and to impact global issues. But these roles face significant challenges: they’re often highly competitive, decision-making ultimately rests with member states (who often disagree), consensus-building takes time, and organizations can be highly bureaucratic. Success in these roles typically requires strong interpersonal skills, comfort with complexity, cultural awareness, and patience with institutional processes.

Next steps

Whether you’re at the start of your career, a subject-matter expert new to policy, or a seasoned policy practitioner exploring technology issues, you can make a meaningful difference on emerging technology issues through policy work.

We generally recommend testing your fit to assess which roles and institutions may suit you best, and investing in your professional development (skills, knowledge, network, and credentials), which is valuable for all policy roles. In addition, here are some specific next steps based on your background: