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Resources researched by the Liberty Guide team. Whether you’re in your first real job or a seasoned professional, chances are your job requires quite a bit of writing. Here at Liberty Guide, we understand how important it is to have good …
By Michael Munger In April 2005, INSIDEHIGHERED.COM carried a story on the tenure process. Here is an excerpt: The scholar was well liked and well published, according to the e-mail that arrived last week, but he was …
By David Schmidtz The Problem Suppose you are just starting graduate school, hoping to be a professor in five years or so. If you were an undergraduate, you wouldn’t wait until your senior year to find out …
By Michael Munger For better or worse, publishing your research needs to be the strongest leg in the three-legged stool of academic success. The other two legs, service and teaching, are also important, but publishing is clearly first …
By Michael Munger It is important to remember that your research agenda and dissertation are the main reasons you are in graduate school. They need to be your main focus…even though that may be a hard fact for …
By James Stacey Taylor At some point during your graduate career—if not during all of it—you are likely to teach undergraduates. Initially, you will probably be a teaching assistant (TA) for a professor. Later, you may be expected …
By Jeremy Shearmur with editorial input from David Schmidtz Do Unto Others… Imagine that you were part of a conversation on some topic of interest to you. What would your reaction be if someone barged into the …
By Jeremy Shearmur with editorial input from David Schmidtz The topic of personal development raises an issue so important that it merits a section of its own. It is best approached via an interesting theme in the history …
By Jeremy Shearmur with editorial input from David Schmidtz Developing Your Skills Graduate work is an apprenticeship in which you develop the skills you will need as a full-fledged scholar. You may well have misgivings about some …
By Matt Zwolinski Introduction Most prospective graduate students know the importance of choosing a “good” graduate school, but few fully appreciate the variety of considerations which can go into making a school a good one. Academic ratings …
This collection offers some frank but friendly advice to those of you interested in classical liberalism and considering an academic career. The life of the scholar is a voyage filled with deep and enduring satisfactions, but it is a …
In the beginning, there was The Newspaper. Then there were The Networks: NBC, ABC, and CBS. By the 1960s, The Networks had surpassed The Newspaper as America’s main source of information. Then there was CNN. Cable News …
Finding a job in local television news is difficult, particularly if you want to be on air. News directors tell me they often get two hundred or more résumé tapes for every one job opening. The lure of the …
I’ll start with some general advice, tried-and-truisms from twenty-four years in the business, the last fourteen helping to launch hundreds of Bachelor of Fine Arts in broadcast journalism into the always-daunting, ever-changing, and ever-diffuse landscape of broadcast news. …
You’ve studied print journalism—learned the best way to ask questions, craft a story, and write a catchy headline—so when your story makes it big and you’re interviewed on TV, it should be a piece of cake, right? Not necessarily. …
If you’re interested in becoming a journalist, you’ve probably read so much about the pending death of newspapers and news magazines that you’ve read a number of laments over the death of investigative journalism too. Don’t believe them. They …
Prudently, Mom and Dad refused to fund my wish for a journalism degree. They agreed it would doom me to abject poverty for the remainder of my days. However, during my senior year a young lady on whom I …
The Internet gives you the power to publish content globally and instantaneously for free. There are no gatekeepers, no distributors, and no editors. If you are a journalist at the beginning of your career, it’s an extraordinary opportunity. You …
Freelance writing can be a rewarding career that brings you into contact with inspiring people who love what they do and love sharing it with the world. It can give you a measure of control over your own time, …
Radio news on AM/FM commercial stations is a tough gig. It is not a 9 to 5 job. You will have to come in at odd hours, weekends, overnight, etc. Get used to it. After all, radio prime time …
When most people say someone is from “inside the Beltway,” they don’t mean it as a compliment. This is doubly true if the speaker happens to be of the libertarian persuasion. But being a denizen of the District of …
Random tips for journalists Keep these things in your car at all times: a notebook, pens, business cards, sturdy shoes, a rain coat and a map (MapQuest and GPS will get it wrong) Never be shy about saying, “I …
If you’re thinking about a journalism career, you’ve probably heard all of the horrific stats about shrinking newspapers, reporters having to cover multiple beats, massive layoffs, and the like. It’s all true. But what you need to …
Most successful journalists, when called upon to speak in front a group of aspiring young reporters, writers, and editors, tell them that, sadly, the glory days are long gone. There’s no more gold in them thar hills. The very …
Career Planning for the Undergraduate If you are an undergraduate, then you are well situated to get off to a good start. The first thing you need to know is that you don’t have to major in journalism. …
This guide is for young journalists in the first years of their careers. As journalism programs director at the Institute for Humane Studies, I work primarily with undergraduates and graduate students between the ages of twenty and twenty-six. My …
by Alison, The Girls Guide to Law School Originally posted on October 12, 2011 Original source can be found here. “A law degree is really flexible! It opens lots of doors.” Do not believe this statement. Hearing it makes …
by Alison, The Girl’s Guide to Law School Originally posted on September 7, 2011. Original source can be found here. To put it charitably, one reason people consider joining the legal profession is to cash in — lawyers make …
by Jordan Rushie, a lawyer at a small private firm in Philadelphia Originally posted on April 30, 2012. Original source can be found here. 6:00am: Alarm goes off. “Hey hon. Did you bleach my white shirts? I can’t wear …
by Megan McArcdle; Special Correspondent to The Daily Beast. Originally posted September 24, 2012. Original source can be found here. Paul Campos and I are pretty far apart politically, but it turns out we have broad areas of agreement, …
Why Public Policy? 1. The Structure of Social Change Rich Fink, President, Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation (A version of this originally appeared in the Philanthropy Magazine, Winter 1996, under the title, From Ideas to Action: The Role …
2. The Role of the Think Tank Joseph G. Lehman, President, Mackinac Center for Public Policy If you are exploring careers in public policy, you should consider the policy-shaping role of think tanks. The enactment of a law …
What Skills Do I Need in the Policy World? 3. Integrity Lawrence W. Reed, President, Foundation for Economic Education What’s the most important element in forming a successful career? Well, here’s one that is so important that …
4. Why Writing Well Is Key Matt Mitchell, Research Fellow, Mercatus Center Everyone writes. Most of us do it poorly. Lamentable though it may be, the fact is, writing is not just for the blogger, the op-ed author, and …
5. What Degrees Do I Need? Eric Alston, Policy Analyst, Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation Isaac M. Morehouse, Policy Programs Director, Institute for Humane Studies There is no simple way to determine what level and type of degree …
6. Being a Policy Generalist Dr. Jameson Taylor, Director of Research, South Carolina Policy Council If you are wrestling over whether to specialize in any one field, as opposed to being a policy generalist, chances are you …
7. Being a Policy Specialist Andrew Coulson, Director, Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute The term “social engineer” most often evokes thoughts of “some evil despot attempting to reconstruct society around a warped personal philosophy” (Mark …
8. How Understanding Economics Helps in Policy James D. Gwartney, Professor of Economics, Florida State University For anyone seeking to affect or even evaluate public policy options, economic thinking is crucial. It helps us to avoid some of …
9. How Understanding Politics Helps in Policy Eric O’Keefe, Chairman and CEO, Sam Adams Alliance This is the most dynamic time since the Founding for political reformers in America. Millions of Americans have awakened to government threats to …
10. The Use (Not Abuse) of Statistics Lynn Scarlett, Former Executive Director, Reason Public Policy Institute Economist Thomas Sowell quipped in his book Knowledge and Decisions that information is everywhere, but knowledge is rare. Sowell may have had …
11. Persuasion and Issue-Framing Fred Smith, President and Founder, Competitive Enterprise Institute Free-market advocates often seek to convert others to our way of thinking with a quasi-religious fervor. America’s strength, however, lies in its diversity of values. If …
12. Public Speaking Scott Hamilton, Director, European Connection Faced with the prospect of speaking in front of an audience, normally confident and well-balanced people have been known to have a panic attack. Yet not only is it a …
Roles Within a Think Tank 13. Policy Analyst Joe Coletti, Director of Health and Fiscal Policy Studies, John Locke Foundation The policy analyst makes a think tank a think tank. Without the analyst, the organization could be a …
14. Policy ‘Outside the Box’ Tyler Grimm, Director of Research, Public Notice Let’s say you don’t have a Ph.D. from a top ten program, haven’t worked on Capitol Hill for 20 years, and don’t consider yourself an expert …
15. Communications Bob Ewing, Assistant Director of Communications, Institute for Justice In 1996, a little-known lawsuit was working its way through the New Jersey courts. It caught the attention of a relatively new libertarian public interest law firm …
16. Investigative Journalism Jason Stverak, President, Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity As each new day brings another story of corrupt politicians, un principled officials, and government boondoggles, there remains one strong and effective way to fight …
17. New Media Robert B. Bluey, Director, Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation Shortly after arriving at the Heritage Foundation in 2007, I was confronted with a cruel reality. My job as the think …
18. Development Lisa Hazlett, President, Hazlitt Consulting America’s charitable community plays an indispensable role in improving communities across the country. Whether caring for victims of natural disasters, stimulating creativity in the arts and sciences, protecting free speech, or …
19. Management Chad Thevenot, Chief Operating Officer, Institute for Humane Studies Serving in a management role in the nonprofit sector is intellectually rewarding and relatively lucrative (compared to many other nonprofit roles). But, from my experience, most folks …
20. Academics at Think Tanks John Blundell, Distinguished Senior Fellow, the Institute of Economic Affairs The interface between academics and wannabe academics and the think tank world is both potentially very rich and potentially hugely problematic. Our …
I Want to Work for a Think Tank—What Do I Do? 21. Preparing Your Résumé and Cover Letter Claire Kittle, Executive Director, Talent Market “A date is a job interview that lasts all night. The only difference between …
22. Internships Scott Barton, Director of Communicators Programs, Institute for Humane Studies An internship is a temporary (8 to 16 weeks) position that offers on-the-job training. Most interns are college students or recent graduates, although some internships allow …
23. Networking Dr. Nigel Ashford, Senior Program Officer, Institute for Humane Studies Why Network? Networks are people communicating with each other, sharing ideas, information, and resources. Why do so many resist the idea of networking? First, …
24. Starting at the Bottom and Working Your Way Up Tom Palmer, Vice President for International Programs, Atlas Economic Research Foundation; Senior Fellow, Cato Institute So you want to be influential? Right. Start at the top! But that may …
25. How to Succeed in a Nonprofit Brian Hooks, Chief Operating Officer, Mercatus Center There’s so much bad advice out there on the topic that my first goal has to be not to add to it. So I’ll …
Policy Outside the Think Tank 26. Changing Policy in the Public Sector Carl L. Oberg, Executive Director, Foundation for Economic Education (previously a contractor at the U.S. Department of Defense and a civil servant at the U.S. Department of Commerce) …
27. Changing Policy As a Politician Leon Drolet, Chair of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, former Michigan State Representative Note: In this article, I will use the terms “libertarian,” “classical liberal,” and similar terms interchangeably to define someone who supports …
28. Out of Politics and into Ideas Jack McHugh, Senior Legislative Analyst, Mackinac Center for Public Policy I’ve always been a “political” person, but came late to politics as a professional matter. I did so by diving in …
29. Changing Policy in the For-Profit Sector Tony Woodlief, Vice President for Academic Programs, Market-Based Management Institute Maybe the simple truth, after you’ve considered what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing, is that you don’t really …
30. Changing Policy As a Professor Lee Alston, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder The incentive structure for active academics is to publish in top academic journals. Many economists think that this may be inconsistent …
31. Continuing Your Classical Liberal Education Dr. Stephen Davies, Program Director, Institute of Economic Affairs So, you have gotten that position you’ve been working toward. You are now safely ensconced in a think tank, policy analysis firm or public …
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