Exploring Your Public Service Path
There is no single “perfect” answer to what you should do with your life, and that’s okay. Choosing a career in public service doesn’t require having everything figured out from the start. Instead of waiting for certainty, focus on exploring as you gain experience.
Watch this presentation by Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans about designing your life:
YouTube URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Na-gjMv2Y4
Duration: 15:39
This is the advice they give:
- Get Curious – Explore different possibilities and learn about careers that interest you.
- Talk to People – Engage with professionals in fields you’re considering to understand their work.
- Try Stuff – Gain hands-on experience through internships, volunteering, or short-term projects to test what resonates with you.
They also wrote a book called Designing Your Life. In it, they apply a creative problem-solving approach (design thinking) to career planning. Instead of trying to “figure it all out” in advance, they encourage prototyping different career paths by testing ideas in small, low-risk ways.
Key takeaways from the book include:
- There is no single right path – Successful careers are built through exploration and iteration.
- Dysfunctional beliefs hold you back – Myths like “I have to find my passion” can create unnecessary pressure.
- You can design multiple good lives – There is no one ideal future; several career paths could be fulfilling.
- Failure is part of the process – Testing new experiences, even if they don’t work out, provides valuable insights.
- By staying open to new opportunities and actively engaging in career exploration, you can build a fulfilling path in public service—one that evolves with your interests and experiences.
In this textbook and our public service careers class, I try to embrace the “design your life” approach by guiding you through exploration, reflection, and real-world engagement with practitioners. Rather than presenting a single formula for success, I introduce a variety of career paths. The textbook encourages self-assessment and provides practical steps for gaining experience. You’ll learn how to get curious, talk to people, and try things.
