<p>I am a junior at a well regarded LAC in the midwest. I am majoring in political science. My cumulative GPA is 3.6 and my major GPA is 3.75.</p>
<p>However, I feel unemployable! I have applied to 50+ internships for this summer - and while I realize it is still early in the game - I have already received rejections from many of them. My past work experience consists of working in a local restaurant during the summers and being a tutor during the academic year.</p>
<p>I feel really miserable about this. I have even contemplated dropping out, or at the very least transferring to a much less prestigious state school -- if I'm gonna be unemployed I may as minimize my debt, eh?</p>
<p>I have also considered transferring to the cheap state school and switching/adding on an accounting major. Although, I would probably have to add on an extra year of schooling.</p>
<p>The transferring option would bruise my ego. It would also make me feel crummy because it means my parents would have to pay for another year of schooling if I added on accounting.</p>
<p>Do you guys think it would be a good idea? While I realize it wouldn't make me rich, it would at least allow me to start paying off my loans..</p>
<p>Any input, ideas, suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks.</p>
<p>I graduated from Penn last year with a degree in political science after working in restaurants my entire life and doing some research senior year… so it’s safe to say I know what you’re feeling.</p>
<p>I applied to thirty internships during my junior year, and I got zero interviews (not offers… zero INTERVIEWS). I wound up taking a job that disguised itself as an internship and quit two weeks in, since I’d get better experience and have more fun waiting tables.</p>
<p>A year after graduation, I am happily employed.</p>
<p>Things to keep in mind…
If you don’t get an internship, YOU WILL SURVIVE!
You are employable, but you need to know how to market yourself.
It’s going to SUCK until you get an offer, so get used to it.</p>
<p>What industry are you trying to enter?</p>
<p>(if you can’t tell, I’m advocating to not transfer)</p>
<p>Any insights on how you finally landed the job? Did you just learn how to market your skills and experiences better?</p>
<p>Because my work experience is limited I’ve been pursuing internships in a wide variety of industries. Primarily, however, I’ve been targeting internships in public policy, human resources, and sales (with a quite of few other random govt/business internships thrown in due to location or some other desirable factors). I also realize me landing a gig this summer may turn out to be a numbers game so I am trying to send out as many thoughtful and targeted resumes and cover letters as possible to maximize my chances of at least getting an interview. I’ve pretty much assumed any consulting internships worth pursuing are out of the question.</p>
<p>Worst case scenario I start applying to internships in my hometown in March/May. I’d even settle for a non-paid internship as long as I acquired some useful/marketable skills.</p>
<p>Thanks for the words of encouragement, Chris. My gut tells me I should stay too but another part of my keeps re-visiting the transfer/accounting scenario as it just strikes me as being a better career move, at least in the short run.</p>
<p>…i majored in accounting and had a real tough time finding an internship for the summer before I graduated (didnt get an offer till finals week) and most of my classmates didn’t. I had a very high GPA and applied and was rejected throughout the whole school year. So this isnt necessarily only a problem for your major, it’s just the economy as a whole…don’t give up, you are definitely not alone. I’d say this experience is the norm, not the exception. </p>
<p>Although, I’d always consider taking any action to minimizing debt.</p>
<p>So, public policy is a field that offers internships, but they are EXTREMELY competitive and rarely paid. You have a chance to get one, but it is a matter of applying to as many places as possible. HR and sales, on the other hand, are fields that rarely offer internships, so it’s going to be tough to find one. Getting an internship isn’t necessarily a numbers game for your industries… it’s a people game. If you know someone, you will have a better chance of getting an internship. But if you don’t get one, that will not by any means at all make you unemployable.</p>
<p>For me, I had my career services counselors tear apart my resume and help me to rewrite it; that was helpful. My cover letter did a good job of showing what I was all about. I was also able to figure out what my skills were and market them. It took 52 applications over six months for me to land a job, but I did finally get a job my senior year (in the consulting industry).</p>
<p>If your gut tells you to stay, then stay. Your gut is usually right… it’s your head that you need to worry about. </p>
<p>If you’d like, you can feel free to PM me your resume, and I would be happy to help you work on it. Honestly, after I redid my resume, companies started responding MUCH more favorably to my applications.</p>
<p>You should be able to find something… it likely won’t be paid, but there are opportunities out there. Do any of your professors do research? Are there any think tanks around? How far are you from the state capital?</p>
<p>I did a national security related internship at a think tank where I never even went to the office. Just communicated with a Senior Fellow by email and did research. If you are interested in that side of Political Science, shoot me a PM and I will send you the link to this place. If you are interested in domestic political work, there should be opportunities in local congressional offices (for both state and national representatives) and opportunities in your state capital.</p>
<p>If political science is what you want to do, then you should not transfer and you should not change your major.</p>
<p>Apply apply apply. It took me three tries to get an internship offer from the State Department, and a couple tries at other [really good] internships that I received offers from.</p>
<p>Does your school’s Political Science department offer a semester at Washington DC? This can be a useful course. Also, utilize your school’s career center. This may be a little too late, but you should have double majored with economics. Politics is heavily influenced by economic policy. But don’t give up faith. Also try cold calling some of your local offices. Town Hall, governor’s or mayor’s offices. Local Congressmen or Senator’s offices. They’re always looking for interns to help them campaign, and this is invaluable experience that will help you out.</p>