Given my current master's degree and work experience, should I pursue a PhD in my existing field or a master's in public policy to switch careers and gain practical exposure to a new domain?

This decision turns less on which credential is more prestigious and more on whether you actually want to spend three-plus years going deeper into your current field or one to two years building a different toolkit for a different kind of job.

PhD vs MPP on the Factors That Matter Most

Signals a PhD Is the Right Call

• Genuine interest in research in your current field, not just familiarity with it after years of work.
• A specific research question or supervisor you already want to work with.
• Willingness to accept a longer, lower-paid training period in exchange for research or academic credibility.

Signals an MPP Fits Better

If what draws you to public policy is practical exposure rather than theory, a shorter, more applied degree gets you there faster and with less opportunity cost than adding a PhD on top of a Master's you already hold. An MPP or MPA is also generally more forgiving of a non-policy academic background than a PhD committee would be of an unrelated research proposal.

My Advice

Before choosing, write down the actual job you want in three years, not the subject you want to study, since policy and PhD both sound appealing in the abstract but lead to very different day-to-day work. If you cannot name a specific research question you are excited about, that alone is a strong signal to lean toward the MPP route over a PhD in your current field.