Which departments/roles do you think are most important to work in from an EA perspective? The Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and FCDO seem particularly impactful, but are also the most crowded and competitive. Are there lesser known departments doing neglected but important work?
(e.g. my impression is DEFRA would be this for animal welfare policy—are there similar opportunities in other cause areas?). Thanks!
That said, for non-civil servants—I would strongly suggest focussing the first role you get on skill development and understanding how government works, rather than trying to go straight into the most impactful area.
Civil servants are expected to move around a lot, so you can find the most impactul areas once you are in, and demonstrating good generalist skills is one the key things that will make moving around easy.
Hey 22tom, this depends a lot on which cause area you’re most interested in. For example, if you want to work on climate change, several departments could be good options (BEIS, DfT, DEFRA). If you’re interested in emerging technologies, DCMS could be a strong contender. Is there a particular cause you’re most interested in?
This is super helpful, thank you!
Which departments/roles do you think are most important to work in from an EA perspective? The Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and FCDO seem particularly impactful, but are also the most crowded and competitive. Are there lesser known departments doing neglected but important work? (e.g. my impression is DEFRA would be this for animal welfare policy—are there similar opportunities in other cause areas?). Thanks!
These 2 apps should help give a sense of where you can work on different causes in the Civil Service:
https://highimpact.shinyapps.io/impact_areas/
https://highimpact.shinyapps.io/civil_service_jobs_explorer/
That said, for non-civil servants—I would strongly suggest focussing the first role you get on skill development and understanding how government works, rather than trying to go straight into the most impactful area.
Civil servants are expected to move around a lot, so you can find the most impactul areas once you are in, and demonstrating good generalist skills is one the key things that will make moving around easy.
Hey 22tom, this depends a lot on which cause area you’re most interested in. For example, if you want to work on climate change, several departments could be good options (BEIS, DfT, DEFRA). If you’re interested in emerging technologies, DCMS could be a strong contender. Is there a particular cause you’re most interested in?
I’d add that if you’re interested in tech/AI policy, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is quite a good, lesser known, place to consider.
EDIT to add: also the CMA is incubating the new Digital Markets Unit (DMU).