David Doyle reflects on his transition from Microsoft to public service

In September 2016, David Doyle (’15, Policy Studies) began a new venture as City of Seattle’s Open Data Program Manager. The Open Data Program makes the data generated by the City of Seattle openly available to the public, enabling those outside of government to find solutions to our most pressing civic challenges.

The Master of Arts in Policy Studies program was pivotal in David’s transition from 18 years at Microsoft to the public sector. “Once I had settled on technology policy as a possible viable future career path, I found a program that allowed me to pursue this goal while at the same time balancing working full time and being a parent.”

In this blog post, David reflects on his motivations for a career change and the benefits of public service. And he invites other to join him, writing, “So, if you’re looking for a fulfilling role, an ability to have impact at scale, developing new skill sets and expanding your professional network – then I would encourage you to consider joining that flow of talent into government and civil society.”