What can I do with a degree in Public Services Management?

Find out where the range of skills you develop studying public services management can take you. Here we list potential careers and tell you how you can find a job in this sector.

Public Services Management careers

The occupations listed below are a selection of those which may interest Public Services Management students

Armed Forces Careers/Ministry of Defence Careers

There are numerous roles in the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Ministry of Defence.  
Careers in the Army
Careers in the Royal Navy
Careers in the Royal Air Force
Careers in the Ministry of Defence/Civil Service

Border Force Officer

Border force officers work border entry points checking customs and immigration laws are being upheld.  Job profile of a border force officer from the National Careers Service website

Civil Service Administrator

Civil Service administrators work in government departments or agencies, duties can include customer service, report writing and research. Job profile of a Civil Service administrator from the Prospects website

Civil Service Fast Streamer

The Civil Service Fast Stream is a leadership development programme for graduates who want to pursue leadership roles within the Civil Service.
Job profile of a Civil Service fast streamer from the Prospects website Civil Service Fast Stream webpage

Education Administrator

Education administrators work in universities, colleges and schools in a range of areas including admissions, examinations, finance, marketing and student services. 
Job profile of an Education Administrator from the Prospects website Job profile of an Education Administrator from the TARGETjobs website

Fire and Rescue Service

The Fire and Rescue Service advertise a variety of occupations including firefighters, fire and rescue control, community and business safety and service support. 
Job profile of a fire fighter from the TARGETjobs website Job profile of a fire fighter from the Prospects website

Health Service Manager

Health service managers have responsibility for various aspects of the running of a hospital or doctors surgery, including roles in finance, facilities management, project management and human resources. 
Job profile of a health service manager from the Prospects website
Job profile of a health service manager from the TARGETjobs website

Local Government Careers

Local government roles include generalist (manager, administrator etc.) and specialist (finance, education, human resources) positions.  Graduates are responsible for the development and implementation of the local authority’s policies and procedures, ensuring they are delivered effectively and offer value for money.
Job profile of a local government officer from the Prospects website
National Graduate Development Programme website
Kent County Council Graduate Programme website Medway Council careers website

Military Intelligence Careers

MI5 have job opportunities in a range of sectors, as well as three graduate programmes. 
MI5 intelligence careers
MI5 technology careers
MI5 languages careers
MI5 specialist careers
MI5 corporate careers
MI5 graduate programmes

NHS Leadership Academy

The NHS offers graduate management schemes in finance, general management, health analysis and informatics, human resources and policy and strategy NHS Leadership Academy website

Paramedic

Paramedics respond to emergency calls and provide initial treatment to patients.
Job profile of a paramedic from the TARGETjobs website Job profile of a paramedic from the Prospects website

Police Officer

Police officers work to maintain law and order in the community and combat crime, terrorism and antisocial behaviour. 
Job profile of a police officer from the Prospects website

Prison Officer

Prison officers supervise, train and rehabilitate inmates during their time in prison and young offenders’ institutions. 
Job profile of a prison officer from the Prospects website Job profile of a prison officer from the National Careers Service website

Probation Officer

Probation officers work with offenders and attempt to reduce the chances of the individuals reoffending. 
Job profile of a probation officer from the Prospects website Job profile of a probation officer from the National Careers Service website

Social Services

There are hundreds of job roles within social services including youth worker, community development worker, housing policy officer and learning mentor. Job profiles of various social services roles from the National Careers Service

For further information on these careers, see also:

Please note that some of these careers may require further study.

For further information on these careers, see also:

Other careers

A Public Services Management degree may be useful in the following career areas:

Charity Officer

Charity officers work in the voluntary sector and can take on a number of responsibilities including marketing, fundraising, recruiting and managing volunteers and finance.
Job profile of a charity officer from the Prospects website Job profile of a charity officer from the All About Careers website

Equality and Diversity Officer

Equality and diversity officers work in various organisations promoting equality for minority groups.
Job profile of an equality and diversity officer from the Prospects website Job profile of an equality and diversity officer from the National Careers Service website

Finance Roles

Every organisation in the public sector requires its finances to be carefully managed.  There are various roles in finance available and many schemes will train graduates from any degree discipline.
Job profile of a tax inspector from the National Careers Service
Job profile of a chartered accountant from the Prospects website

Job profile of an investment analyst from the Prospects website

Health and Safety Adviser

Health and safety advisers work in a variety of industries and their duties include carrying out risk assessments, training staff members and advising on health and safety issues.
Job profile of a health and safety adviser from the Prospects website Job profile of a health and safety adviser from the National Careers Service website

Human Resources Officer

Human resources officers recruit and develop employees, responsibilities can include dealing with discipline procedures, keeping records, advising on pay, legal rights and benefits and developing policies.
Job profile of a human resources officer from the Prospects website   Job profile of a human resources officer from the National Careers Service website >

International Aid/Development Worker

International aid/development workers work with developing countries and have a range of responsibilities depending on the needs of the communities.
Job profile of an international aid/development worker from the Prospects website Job profile of an international aid/development worker from the All About Careers website

Teacher

Teachers educate others in various institutions including schools and colleges.
Job profile of a primary school teacher from the Prospects website
Job profile of a secondary school teacher from the Prospects website
Job profile of a further education teacher from the Prospects website Information on getting into teaching in the UK

Volunteer Coordinator

Volunteer coordinators recruit and manage volunteers and can work in charities or organisations (including universities).
Job profile of a volunteer coordinator from the Prospects website Job profile of a volunteer coordinator from the All About Careers website

You may be interested in graduate roles outside of public services management. There are many employers who are looking for graduates with good degrees but that don’t have a preference for the subject studied. To explore different career options see:

Skills gained

As well as subject-specific knowledge and skills, a graduate in Public Services Management will typically have gained:

This is not an exhaustive list of skills – you will develop many skills from your course, extra-curricular activities and work experience. You can Employability find out more about the skills employers look for and how you can develop them.

Find a job

The Careers and Employability Service provides information and advice on job searching to University of Kent students and recent graduates. This includes a vacancy database advertising a range of graduate jobs, sandwich placements and vacation work/internships and online resources.

Useful job searching/information websites

TARGETjobs: public service, charity and social work graduate jobs, training schemes and placements

More websites offering graduate jobs, internships and placement years

You may also find useful reviews and application/interview tips for specific organisations on the following websites:
Glassdoor
The Job Crowd

Further study

Previous Public Services Management graduates from the University of Kent have gone on to further study including a PGCE, an MA in Sociology and an LLM.  Looking at the national picture, 68.2% of public administration and social policy graduates are employed 6 months after graduation, 12.6% go on to do further study, 5.1% are working and studying abroad, 7.8% are unemployed and 6.8% are doing something else (source).  Further study often involves specialising in a particular area such as law or teaching.

More information on postgraduate study

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