<p>I am really interested in public policy, philosophy, economics, political science, law, etc. I would love to major in political science. </p>
<p>However, is the only path from a BS in Poly Sci to a high paying job through law school? </p>
<p>I would enjoy law school but from what I understand, the legal job market right now is awful. I would not enjoy being an attorney for a corporate law firm. However, it seems like this type of job is the only way to make enough money to even pay off law school debt.</p>
<p>Are there any high paying (100k or more) jobs related to politics/public policy out there? (excluding being a politician)</p>
<p>I realize that nobody is going to make 100k+ out of college other than investment bankers. I’m talking about a job where you can realistically make 100k+ after say 10 years.</p>
<p>Or possibly a job out of law school related to politics that allows one to make this amount after a few years (Not corporate law. Something related to policy)?</p>
<p>Well, excluding being a politician, I suppose being a well-paid teacher/professor could possibly make 100K/yr. That, or I imagine you being employed by a pretty-high profile individual.</p>
<p>Actually, the average income of a political science major (no graduate studies) is more than $100,000, counting those employed at least five years after college.</p>
<p>There are a LOT of jobs possible. Government jobs will pay you very well - I don’t mean politicians, but administrative or organizational jobs. Very few political science majors actually end up being politicians, since being a successful politician in the U.S. requires a huge amount of capital.</p>
<p>Apart from government jobs, a large portion of political science majors work for private organizations, including businesses (as political analysts and perhaps as lobbyists), unions, and non-profit organizations. The salary of the CEO of a nation-wide charity can actually be higher than that of a President.</p>
<p>Finally, since you’re so interested in the subject, you may go on to graduate school and teach as a professor, which is a very, very comfortable job if you’re smart.</p>
<p>Find a bunch of independent millionaires who happen to have majored in Poli Sci and the average shoots up.</p>
<p>The logical career path for Poli Sci majors is Government and Non-Profit. Both notorious for low pay.</p>
<p>Sure, you could make 100k - 20 years from now, perhaps…possibly, hypothetically.</p>
<p>An entry level employee (with a bachelors degree) enters the federal government at a GS 5 or 7, which ranges from 30K - 45K, depending on location and overtime it can be more. </p>
<p>My brother-in -law is a GS 11, lives a very happy middle class lifestyle. My sister doesn’t have to work and stays at home with the kids. Modest house, modest cars, modest spending. It all depends on the life you want.</p>
<p>If your goal is to make 100K - go into a different profession.</p>
<p>Besides, 100K isn’t what it use to be. Not when you factor in a wife, kids, mortgage, and car payments. In fact, it doesn’t go very far at all.</p>
<p>U.S. Senator and Congressmen make $175,000. Do that for a few years, get promoted to president, and you then make $400,000. Be president for 4 or 8 years, retire, and then make $10 million + in the private sector. See, and you thought a political science degree was worthless!</p>
<p>ok, in all seriousness, I can’t see any benefits to getting a PS degree unless your planning to go to law school. Perhaps this is why PS majors make a lot of money… because they are all lawyers! Some of the highest paid and most notable lawyers in this country got their start at the Woodrow Wilson School before going to Harvard.</p>
<p>Most lobbyists are hired because of their connections in government, not their major.</p>
<p>Could a Poli Sci major be a lobbyist? Sure - but so could a person with any other major.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much people in think tanks make, probably 100K at the high end. But again, those jobs aren’t exclusive to Poli Sci majors, and most positions aren’t entry level.</p>
<p>What you need to do is figure out what sort of job you’d like to have after graduation and what career path you’d like to pursue, then decide the type of education that best fits those goals. Doing it in reverse isn’t good.</p>
<p>As I said previously, the natural progression from Political Science is Government and Non-Profit, which are both known for low pay. Sure, there are exceptions, but they are just that and even then it takes a very long time to obtain the kind of salary you want compared to other professions.</p>
<p>Other jobs that make good money in politics, such as a Political Consultant are the result of work experience, not a college degree or major.</p>
<p>@BIGeastBEAST, it’s funny you said that because in a recent college visit the Assistant Director of Admissions said he wanted to go into business was convinced he wanted to be a business major yet after taking the initial classes, he was miserable and didn’t get it. (And having taught introductory accounting, it is a story I had heard countless times.)He became a history major, loved his classes, became a tour guide as an undergraduate, was told by someone he would be good at admissions, and now is the Assistant Director and loves his job. He said he couldn’t have imagined his career path before he went to school but can’t imagine doing anything else now.</p>
<p>I don’t get why everyone scoffs at the prospect of being a politician- claiming it’s too unlikely. While being president is certainly unlikely, becoming a mayor,assemblyman, state senator, congressman, etc is completely attainable.</p>
<p>It seems like many earlier commentors have committed the basic error when talking about the career prospects of a political science major: </p>
<p>Political Science =/= Politics.</p>
<p>If one’s goal is to become a politician, stronger cases can be made for taking other majors. Furthermore, a politician can only be considered a high-paying job when compared to the mean per person income. A majority of those that are serving as elected representatives can garner much greater salaries should they leave for the private sector. </p>
<p>To the original question posed: there is very little chance that one will enter a high-paying job by studying political science. Even if you go for the PhD, median salary for new assistants outside the CHYMPS range from 50-70k in the post-2008 market. As a full, tenured prof, you would only be able to pull in 100-150k at a top private RI (CHYMPS et al.)</p>
<p>I have heard of one political science PhD making $250k by entering the private sector and doing number crunching. But I suspect most people are not entering political science programs to run regressions for a living (and consequently, most people are not entering political science for the salaries.)</p>