<p>I've spent the last few months searching for discussions on this topic, including CC, but have yet to find one that fits my situation. I'll put said situation this way:</p>
<p>Good news:
I'll have no debt, and won't be under tremendous pressure to find a well-to-do job. </p>
<p>Bad news:
I'm not a highly political individual. I enjoy reading and discussing current affairs, but I'm not the campaign or non-profit type. </p>
<p>In other words, I'm looking for an office job that I'd be able to get with virtually any Bachelor's degree. All that I've been able come up with are civil service jobs and jobs involving policy analysis. These are good (if I can get one), and for the most part offer excellent job security, but I was wondering if any of you can offer some insight on this, especially in regards to the private sector. </p>
<p>My daughter was a political science major (Phi Beta Kappa with excellent internships). She graduated a couple of years ago into a terrible job market, and ended up starting out as an analyst with a consulting company that was not related to politics or public policy. She has since been promoted and is really happy with her job. She definitely uses her analysis, writing, and interviewing/communication skills a lot, and I think a poli sci/liberal arts degree was good training for that.</p>
<p>It’s really all about getting your foot in the door. Make sure you obtain an internship or two in the area that you’d like to work and you can usually move up the ranks no matter what your degree is. Experience, references, and connections are worth far more than any degree. </p>
<p>Internships seem to be the issue. I’ve applied for one so far, but it’s really competitive and a long shot. I’ll certainly be looking for others. Thanks. </p>
<p>My daughter applied to a lot of internships to land the ones she got – maybe ~20+ applications each year. And she started early (worked on it over winter break every year). So you really need to up your volume and get going on it if you want to find one for this summer. </p>
<p>20 applications, and she was only accepted to one? Wow. It’s Battle Royale out there. </p>
<p>Uh… she was top of her class, too. You really have a misperception about what job searching is like if you think you can apply just a couple of places and land an internship or a job. Sometimes you get lucky, but research and elbow grease will go a lot further.</p>
<p>I am merely in the top 10% of my class, so I guess that means I’m consigned to a life of poverty and pain.</p>
<p>In all seriousness, I understand how competitive the internship market is, and was trying to lighten the mood. </p>
<p>As far as searching for a job, if you put yourself into a place where you only want to take 1 or 2 different kinds of jobs, that’s probably not the best idea with the current job market. Learn a lot of skills that you can apply to a number of different jobs. This will make you a more balanced job applicant and one that can succeed in many fields. You don’t even have to learn these skills in college, you can teach them to yourself. The internet is a wonderful resource and can teach you skills such as Photoshop, HTML, Flash, etc. I guess in the end, all I’m trying to say is make sure you have plenty of skills so you aren’t stuck looking for 1 particular kind of job because of your narrow skillset.</p>
<p>No doubt.
And I haven’t “placed” myself in any position. In fact, I’m not sure of my position which is why I asked the question. The two kinds of jobs, well at least the first, I referenced encompass thousands of different types of jobs.</p>
<p>Cool well good luck to you!</p>