Policy Career Guides

Entering a policy career can be particularly challenging for individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups. This post highlights relevant resources, career opportunities, and advice.

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Outline:

(00:32) Networking and mentorship

(02:33) Professional opportunities and landing a job

(04:03) Internships and fellowships

(04:22) Recommended resources

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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NSF is an independent federal agency that advances US science and engineering progress through competitive research grants, partnerships, education, and workforce development. NSF investments drive developments across AI, biosecurity, and other emerging technologies.

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Outline:

(00:10) Overview

(02:01) Background on NSF

(03:54) Organizational structure

(05:49) NSF and AI policy

(06:50) AI-related developments at NSF

(07:03) AI-relevant offices at NSF

(09:27) NSF and biosecurity policy

(10:15) Biosecurity-related developments at NSF

(10:28) Biosecurity-relevant offices at NSF

(12:40) Working at NSF

(15:26) Further reading

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Certain activities can tag you as partisan, like volunteering for a campaign, or donating to political candidates. This article provides advice on the potential impacts of partisan affiliations on your policy career.

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Some non-Americans wonder whether they’re eligible for public policy work in the US. This post provides information on the main immigration categories and explains the challenges and opportunities facing foreign nationals.

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Outline:

(01:00) Summary

(02:57) Policy work by immigration status

(03:33) Types of policy work by immigration status

(05:22) Immigration category details

(06:38) Student visas

(10:23) Temporary work visas

(14:42) Green card (permanent residency)

(15:10) Family-based (FB)

(16:12) Employment-based

(18:00) Lottery-based

(18:51) Country-based green card caps

(19:45) Citizenship

(20:56) Appendices

(20:59) Dual intent

(23:51) Selective Service for male immigrants & US citizens growing up abroad

(25:01) Evaluation of Foreign Degrees

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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CDC’s mission is to protect America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and domestic. It provides public health expertise, conducts research, and plays a central role in biosecurity.

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Outline:

(00:10) Executive branch

(00:24) Federal agency profiles

(00:41) Executive branch AI policy overview

(00:59) Executive branch biosecurity policy overview

(01:17) ARPAs \[AI+bio\]

(01:34) Executive Office of the President (EOP) \[AI+bio\]

(01:56) EOP National Security Council (NSC) \[AI+bio\]

(02:20) EOP Office of Management & Budget (OMB) \[AI+bio\]

(02:46) EOP Office of Science & Tech Policy (OSTP) \[AI+bio\]

(03:11) EOP National Economic & Domestic Policy Councils (NEC & DPC) \[AI+bio\]

(03:34) Department of Commerce (DOC) \[AI+bio\]

(03:57) DOC Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) \[AI+bio\]

(04:22) Department of Defense (DOD) \[AI+bio\]

(04:46) DOD Office of the SecDef (OSD) \[AI+bio\]

(05:09) Dep. of Energy (DOE) \[AI+bio\]

(05:32) Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) \[Bio\]

(05:56) HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR) \[Bio\]

(06:18) HHS Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) \[Bio\]

(06:45) HHS Food & Drug Administration (FDA) \[Bio\]

(07:10) HHS National Institutes of Health (NIH) \[Bio\]

(07:34) National Science Foundation (NSF) \[AI+bio\]

(07:58) Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) \[AI+bio\]

(08:26) DHS Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) \[AI\]

(08:48) Intelligence Community (IC) \[AI+bio\]

(09:11) Department of State (DOS) \[AI+bio\]

(09:33) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) \[AI\]

(09:54) US Department of Agriculture (USDA) \[Bio\]

(10:34) Federal agency research and application advice

(10:39) Researching federal agencies and offices

(11:00) Interviewing for federal positions

(11:19) Understanding federal job announcements and USAJOBS.gov

(11:47) Federal resume advice

(12:21) Executive branch fellowships

(14:15) Executive branch resources

(14:19) Job boards

(15:54) Websites

(16:33) Articles

(16:46) Newsletters

(17:06) Books

(18:10) Podcasts

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Home / Tips & resources / Policy cover letters Contents ▾ Tips & Resources Updated 8th Jul 2026 6 min read Share Policy cover letters This guide explains how to write effective cover letters for US policy positions (e.g. congressional offices, think tanks, state legislatures). Your cover letter should strategically complement your resume, providing color

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Outline:

(00:44) Format: How to structure your cover letter

(01:30) Sections

(03:22) Content: What to include

(05:47) Writing: Tone, word choice, and style

(07:16) Strong cover letter examples

(07:20) Early-career example

(10:13) Mid-carer example

(14:06) Using AI to improve your cover letter

(15:33) Further resources

(15:39) Notes

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Home / Tips & resources / Policy resumes Contents ▾ Tips & Resources Updated 8th Jul 2026 8 min read Share Policy resumes This guide explains how to write a resume for US policy roles (e.g. Congress, think tanks, state legislatures), including advice on resume formatting, content, and writing. Policy resumes generally follow standard resume

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Outline:

(00:54) Format: How to make your resume look professional

(02:55) Sections

(06:59) Content: What experiences to include

(08:44) Writing: How to draft strong bullet points

(10:54) Resume bullet examples

(11:44) Using AI to improve your resume

(12:50) Further resources

(12:56) Notes

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Home / Policy levers / Technical standards and evaluations Contents ▾ Policy Levers Updated 3rd Jun 2026 42 min read Share Technical standards and evaluations Overview Technical standards—shared expectations for definitions, performance of products and systems, and testing—underpin nearly all aspects of technology and manufacturing globally. Evaluations check whether those expectations are being met through

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Outline:

(00:10) Overview

(02:16) Why does the government use technical standards and evaluations?

(04:39) Technical standards and evaluations basics

(04:44) What are technical standards?

(06:56) What are evaluations?

(08:37) The lifecycle of standards and evals

(09:43) Who makes standards?

(12:28) How US agencies adopt and use standards

(15:44) Standards & evaluations for emerging technology

(16:29) AI

(17:49) Standards bodies

(18:55) Third-party evaluation organizations

(20:26) Governance and coordination bodies

(22:17) Major recent developments in AI standards and evaluations

(24:27) Major AI-related standards & evaluations

(24:55) Biosecurity and life sciences

(27:33) Laboratory and clinical standards organizations

(29:05) Biosecurity governance and dual-use risk organizations

(31:46) Major bio-related standards

(32:14) Major recent developments in biosecurity standards and evaluations

(34:28) Why (not) work on technical standards & evaluations?

(34:45) The case for impact

(36:52) The case for professional growth

(38:07) Limitations

(40:17) How does the USG engage with standards? Who's involved?

(41:59) Agencies creating standards themselves

(44:32) Examples of agency-created standards in emerging tech

(49:07) Agencies participating in external (non-governmental) standard-setting bodies

(50:07) Examples of NIST engaging with ANSI and ISO

(51:47) Agencies or legislators adopting or referencing external standards

(53:33) Examples of agencies referencing voluntary standards

(55:19) Working on standards & evals: types of roles and career opportunities

(56:03) Preparing for standards & evals roles

(01:01:00) Appendices: Day-in-the-life

(01:01:00) Day in the life: Stories from people working on technical standards

(01:03:41) Further reading

(01:03:46) Notes

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Home / Policy levers / Federal R&D funding Contents ▾ Policy Levers Updated 3rd Jun 2026 51 min read Share Federal R&D funding Overview Federal R&D funding—public dollars allocated by the US government to support scientific and technological progress—is among the strongest policy tools for shaping national innovation. Spawned out of Cold War ambitions to

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Outline:

(00:10) Overview

(01:39) Why does the government invest in R&D?

(04:39) Federal R&D funding basics

(05:37) Department of War funding categories

(08:56) Funding models and mechanisms

(12:37) Federal R&D funding and emerging technology

(16:22) Major recent developments in AI R&D funding

(21:43) Major recent developments in bio R&D funding

(24:54) Why (not) work on federal R&D funding?

(25:00) The case for impact

(28:20) The case for professional growth

(30:11) Some tradeoffs

(33:28) The funding process: Who's involved?

(35:11) Budget and policy direction setting

(35:55) The White House

(38:59) Congress

(41:47) External groups (think tanks, nonprofits, industry groups, etc.)

(44:58) Grant-making and program execution

(46:55) Conducting the actual R&D

(49:31) Coordination

(52:08) Oversight

(54:04) Working on R&D funding: types of roles and career opportunities

(54:41) Preparing for R&D funding roles

(58:38) Appendices: Day-in-the-life & a brief history of federal R&D funding

(58:45) Day in the life: Stories from people working on federal R&D funding

(01:02:29) Federal R&D funding: A brief history

(01:08:02) Further reading

(01:08:07) Notes

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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Home / Policy levers / Export controls Contents ▾ Policy Levers Updated 3rd Jun 2026 39 min read Share Export controls Overview Export controls are regulations that restrict which goods, technologies, and services can be sold or transferred to foreign countries, entities, or individuals. The US government primarily uses export controls to protect national security

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Outline:

(00:09) Overview

(01:32) Why does the government use export controls?

(02:24) Export control basics

(03:07) What gets controlled

(04:22) How controls work

(06:20) Key screening lists

(09:44) Controls beyond US borders

(11:25) Unilateral and multilateral controls

(12:32) Export controls and emerging technology

(13:26) The AI compute supply chain and why it matters for export controls

(16:36) Major recent developments in AI-related export controls

(22:10) Major recent developments in bio-related export controls

(24:41) Why (not) work on export controls?

(24:46) The case for impact

(26:25) The case for professional growth

(28:17) Factors limiting the effectiveness of some export controls

(31:07) The export controls process: Who's involved?

(33:29) Strategy and agenda-setting

(34:05) Congress

(36:35) White House and coordinating agencies

(38:50) External groups

(42:57) Regulatory development, license review, and enforcement

(43:39) Developing controls

(45:38) License review

(47:16) Enforcement

(49:20) Oversight

(51:34) Working on export controls: types of roles and career opportunities

(51:59) Preparing for export control work

(54:48) Appendices: Brief history of export controls

(54:54) Brief history of US export controls

(57:43) Further reading

(57:49) Notes

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If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete our Policy Career Interest Form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

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