Horizon launches new career resource for people interested in public service and emerging technology
This project joins our growing list of Horizon programs. In addition to our fellowship program, which was the initial focus of our organization, we have started to run in-person workshops as well as virtual webinar series to inspire students and professionals to consider policy and public service careers. With emergingtechpolicy.org, we hope to make many of the resources we initially developed for these other programs available to an even wider audience. With technological developments touching every facet of society, we are excited to continue building new programs to further our mission of fostering the next generation of public servants with emerging technology expertise.
Why a new career resource
While careers in policy and public service can be immensely meaningful and impactful, many people struggle to break in. If you are not already enmeshed in the policy world, much of the relevant information can be exceedingly difficult to find, navigating the many acronyms and other complexities of government can be daunting, and you may not have access to the advice and mentorship necessary to succeed.
To bridge this gap, emergingtechpolicy.org aims to make information about policy careers more accessible and inclusive. We hope that this website will help many individuals on their journey into public service—whether they’re students and recent graduates, experienced technologists or subject-matter experts new to policy, or seasoned policy practitioners new to technology issues. Our goal is to make high-quality career advice and resources more widely available, especially to those who would otherwise struggle to access this information.
We hope that this new website will complement other excellent online resources like GoGovernment (general advice on getting government jobs), Tech to Gov (advice for technologists on pivoting to public sector work), Public Interest Tech (introduction and resources on public-interest technology careers), and Digital Policy Guide (a guide to US information technology law and policy), and many more. Readers who find our new website useful should also check out these other resources.
What content you can find on the website
The website consists of a combination of original in-depth guides, shorter lists pointing to existing resources, and first-person accounts from experts and practitioners. Across these, the goal is to help readers think through career questions and, if they decide to take action, to provide concrete advice on potential next steps.
The website is currently organized into five sections:
- Pathways into policy (graduate school, fellowships, etc.) – how to gain policy experience and get jobs for people with different backgrounds and levels of experience.
- Key institutions (Congress, think tanks, executive agencies) – explaining the structure of key US policy institutions, why you might want to work in each, and how to land a job there.
- Policy areas (AI, biosecurity, civic tech, cyber, etc.) – highlighting key institutions, fellowship programs, and resources to learn about and pursue careers in specific emerging technology policy areas.
- Tips and resources (networking, security clearances, etc.) – offering tactical advice on how to build your experience, credentials, and network for policy work.
- Policy career profiles – policy practitioners working in emerging technology policy share details about their career journey, offer advice, and highlight resources.
The website is very much a work in progress. We hope to make updates frequently and are currently working to improve and expand the content. Among other things, we are looking forward to featuring a wider range of career profiles, adding in-depth guides on different parts of government and the non-governmental sector, and growing our resources on practical questions like how to best design your federal resume.
In the meantime, if you spot any mistakes, existing resources we missed, or advice you disagree with, please fill out our feedback form. If you are interested in contributing to the website, you can get in touch with us here.
