Long term planning - Networking in Politics, Communications fields in UK

Hi guys, the folks at thestudentroom.co.uk were kind enough to let a few Americans know about this forum.  The information I've read so far is fantastic!

Anyhow, I am a mid 30s professional in New Orleans who will be attending the University of Glasgow (more than likely.  I've been admitted to a school near London but I fear the costs involved.) for a MSc Political Communication.

I am a 2010 graduate of Tulane University (political science BA).  I have also worked in the information technology field for over 12 years, and politics/government (local) for about 2 years.

My goal is to stay in the UK, either Scotland or England.

I intend on spending the time outside of my studies networking (and interning if possible) with organizations who may be in a position to employ me at the end of my studies.

Has anyone here worked or is working for UK government or NGOs in the UK?  How did you get your job?  What path would you recommend to utilizing time and effort most efficiently?

Best of luck with your plans. Have you thought about looking into Public Affairs firms as well? Often they offer graduate schemes/internships which you could perhaps take on while doing your studies. I got my bachelors in PR in the states and did my masters in public policy at Edinburgh Uni - wanting to work in Public Affairs at the Scottish Government. Unfortunately - it's quite hard to get into as "Scottish government experience" is preferred when applying for positions.

I would check www.w4mpjobs.org [nofollow] (includes adverts from organisations and Scottish/Westminster positions), the Centre for Scottish Public Policy which advertises plenty of internships throughout Scotland for a variety of organisations and companies. There are often policy officer positions at charities and other third sector organisations at www.goodmoves.org.uk [nofollow] . Make sure you research how many hours you can work as a student. It used to be 20 hours but might have changed.

Has anyone here worked or is working for UK government or NGOs in the UK?  How did you get your job?  What path would you recommend to utilizing time and effort most efficiently?

I think that working for the government might be a challenge, as I *think*there is often the restriction of UK / Commonwealth citizenship.

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/

Or you could try searching the following places:
The Daily Telegraph Jobs   
Electus 
EuroBrussels 
Guardian Jobs 
The House Magazine 
New Statesman   
Times Online   
Working for an MP (W4MP) 
Political parties websites
Individual politicians' websites
Local press

For voluntary / third sector / non-profit or international:

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/
http://www.charityjob.co.uk/

Development:
http://www.wango.org/
http://www.devnetjobs.org/
http://www.mydevjobs.com/
http://www.worldbank.org/
http://www.odi.org.uk/
http://www.jposc.org/
http://www.oecd.org/
http://www.un.org/en/
http://www.unsystem.org/
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development
http://www.experiencedevelopment.org/
http://www.humanrightsjobs.com/
http://oneworld.org/
http://www.idealist.org/
http://reliefweb.int/
http://www.eldis.org/
http://www.weitzenegger.de/docon/index.html
http://www.bond.org.uk/

Public relations:
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
http://www.cipr.co.uk/

Public Relations Consultants Association
http://www.prca.org.uk/

As far as staying, beyond a one year student visa is becoming more and more challenging, unless you are eligible for and and have an EU / EEA passport, are a Commonwealth citizen with UK ancestry, or are in a relationship with a UK / EU / EEA citizen, or you wish to carry on and do a PhD (though this will not lead to residency). You may want to post about that in the visas section.

HTH.

MLG