What's it like to work at a think tank?

Think tanks vary a lot, from small organizations with just a few folks and no offices to the large political pundit powerhouses (Brookings, Cato, AEI, CAP) with hundreds of staff, some who show up on your TV every Sunday, to more neutral research centers (RAND, Pew). There are probably many more types that I'm not even aware of! So in some ways, this is akin toasking, "What is it like to work for a corporation?" 

Having said that, there were a few aspects of my own personal experience working at the Rockridge Institute that might resonate with others' experiences across different types of think tanks.

First and foremost, the work itself was really great and it was amazing to have the opportunity to do what I did each day. I spent a lot of time reading. I spent a lot of time writing. And I spent a lot of time getting to talk through ideas with my colleagues. Writing and being creative could sometimes be a struggle, especially when I was on deadline, but it helped a lot to be collaborating with others.

This is especially true when you're working with a great group of people. At a think tank, the people are invariably smart, and they also share your passions and many of your values. So the chances of liking your colleagues are pretty high. In general, I think people are pretty appreciative to be working where they are, so despite the tight budgets (see below), it's a pretty positive work environment. The people around you day to day are pretty proud of what they are able to accomplish — I certainly was — and that was great.

There are also challenges, of course.

First, perhaps because we were a political think tank, there were a lot of office politics involved in the work. I tried to avoid it, but there was an attempt to live by the values we were espousing, and it often became an obstacle. Consider the fact that you are surrounded by a lot of people who think they know how things are supposed to work and how organizations, like the U.S. government, should be run. That can get challenging. I'm not sure that it's necessarily worse than at a typical company, except that your counterparts are expert argument-makers and care a lot about winning abstract theoretical arguments.

Secondly, if you're not a conservative think tank with Koch dollars propping you up, or CAP where most of the D money is funneled, funding is a big persistent issue. Ultimately, a lack of money is what sank the Rockridge Institute, and I believe think tanks running out of money is pretty common.

Consider the financing situation: You don't actually make anything that you can sell. Or in the cases in which you do have a product (e.g., books, though the big authors want to keep those copyrights; or maybe guides or handbooks or workshops) it's certainly not going to cover your expenses. So you have to get your money from foundations and people. Foundation money is very tight and very competitive. So, that leaves fundraising.

Fundraising is one of the hardest things on earth when you're not able to tell someone they'll get their money back plus interest in five years. Fundraising is one of the hardest things on earth when you're not able to tell someone they'll get their money back plus interest in five years. People can be fickle with their money — and rightly so, because it's so difficult to show that what you're doing at a think tank is actually having an effect. Someone can cut you a million dollar check one year, and change their mind the next for so many reasons: the economy, a shiny new object, they don't think you're successful, etc. Not to mention that promised money is not always money in the bank account. So the Sword of Damacles, in the form of not knowing whether you'll have the money for next quarter, is always looming. Luckily I wasn't involved in that side of the business, but it was all certainly palpable at all times.

Ultimately, if it's something you're considering, I think it's definitely worth a try. It provides you with an opportunity to live the life of ideas, and you can see how that counterbalances the possible financial insecurity downside of the job. At worst, you'll meet some great people and have "think tank" on your resume.

More Q&A on Quora: the best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from the experts and get insider knowledge.

Think tanks vary a lot, from small organizations with just a few folks and no offices to the large political pundit powerhouses (Brookings, Cato, AEI, CAP) with hundreds of staff, some who show up on your TV every Sunday, to more neutral research centers (RAND, Pew). There are probably many more types that I'm not even aware of! So in some ways, this is akin to asking, "What is it like to work for a corporation?"

You're going to get a very wide range of answers. You're going to get a very wide range of answers.

Having said that, there were a few aspects of my own personal experience working at the Rockridge Institute that might resonate with others' experiences across different types of think tanks.

First and foremost, the work itself was really great and it was amazing to have the opportunity to do what I did each day. I spent a lot of time reading. I spent a lot of time writing. And I spent a lot of time getting to talk through ideas with my colleagues. Writing and being creative could sometimes be a struggle, especially when I was on deadline, but it helped a lot to be collaborating with others.

This is especially true when you're working with a great group of people. At a think tank, the people are invariably smart, and they also share your passions and many of your values. So the chances of liking your colleagues are pretty high. In general, I think people are pretty appreciative to be working where they are, so despite the tight budgets (see below), it's a pretty positive work environment. The people around you day to day are pretty proud of what they are able to accomplish — I certainly was — and that was great.

There are also challenges, of course.

First, perhaps because we were a political think tank, there were a lot of office politics involved in the work. I tried to avoid it, but there was an attempt to live by the values we were espousing, and it often became an obstacle. Consider the fact that you are surrounded by a lot of people who think they know how things are supposed to work and how organizations, like the U.S. government, should be run. That can get challenging. I'm not sure that it's necessarily worse than at a typical company, except that your counterparts are expert argument-makers and care a lot about winning abstract theoretical arguments.

Secondly, if you're not a conservative think tank with Koch dollars propping you up, or CAP where most of the D money is funneled, funding is a big persistent issue. Ultimately, a lack of money is what sank the Rockridge Institute, and I believe think tanks running out of money is pretty common.

Consider the financing situation: You don't actually make anything that you can sell. Or in the cases in which you do have a product (e.g., books, though the big authors want to keep those copyrights; or maybe guides or handbooks or workshops) it's certainly not going to cover your expenses. So you have to get your money from foundations and people. Foundation money is very tight and very competitive. So, that leaves fundraising.

Fundraising is one of the hardest things on earth when you're not able to tell someone they'll get their money back plus interest in five years. Fundraising is one of the hardest things on earth when you're not able to tell someone they'll get their money back plus interest in five years. People can be fickle with their money — and rightly so, because it's so difficult to show that what you're doing at a think tank is actually having an effect. Someone can cut you a million dollar check one year, and change their mind the next for so many reasons: the economy, a shiny new object, they don't think you're successful, etc. Not to mention that promised money is not always money in the bank account. So the Sword of Damacles, in the form of not knowing whether you'll have the money for next quarter, is always looming. Luckily I wasn't involved in that side of the business, but it was all certainly palpable at all times.

Ultimately, if it's something you're considering, I think it's definitely worth a try. It provides you with an opportunity to live the life of ideas, and you can see how that counterbalances the possible financial insecurity downside of the job. At worst, you'll meet some great people and have "think tank" on your resume.