<p>I was wondering what kind of jobs you can get with a political science major, disregarding jobs like congressman, senator, etc. Is there anything else you can do?</p>
<p>Well a Poli Sci degree won’t get you a job and a Congressman or Senator - that’s for darn sure. </p>
<p>Poli Sci is designed for government and non-profit jobs, but any major can get you those jobs. </p>
<p>What is it you want to do?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there aren’t many career opportunities that come with just a poly sci degree. You can work as a paralegal or, I guess, a school teacher, but if you don’t plan on going to law school, getting a masters in a related field like social work may be necessary to make yourself more marketable.</p>
<p>It’s good for government jobs, working in policy, working as an analyst, things like that.</p>
<p>When it comes to private sector work it’s just like any other Liberal Arts degree, not real useful.</p>
<p>Wow. Are any of you guys actually polisci majors? You can do any number of things with a polisci degree.</p>
<ul>
<li>Work for your Congressmen or Senator as a Legislative Assistant, Policy Specialist, etc. or go and work for the DCCC, DSCC, RCCC, RSCC. </li>
<li>Manage campaigns, be finance directors, outreach directors, communication directors and travel the country.</li>
<li>Work for nonprofits on any area of interest you could possibly have. </li>
<li>Work at Political Action Committees (PACs) EMILY’s List, SEIU, Conservative Leadership PAC etc. </li>
<li>Go into the federal sector: CIA, FBI, any of the Departments (State, Homeland Security etc.)</li>
<li>Go into the private sector for:</li>
<li>Program Associate at any institute/LLC/whatever.</li>
<li>Government Affairs/Legislative Associate at any Institute/LLC/any public company that may one day come in contact with legislation.</li>
<li>Lobbyist</li>
<li>Consultant at a PR firm/Marketing Department/Political Consulting firm</li>
<li>Work in New Media to do outreach on an issue of your choice</li>
</ul>
<p>It’s a very marketable degree as far as Liberal Arts go. Mostly because you probably have languages, statistics, and concise writing skills. I’ve had an internship in every sector (private, federal, nonprofit) and I’m not even graduated yet. I graduate in 2011, and these ideas were just taken from the first page of jobs I’ve been looking at.</p>
<p>^^^^ With an exception of a couple, those are all non-profit and government jobs, which I mentioned.</p>
<p>And while YOU COULD do any of those jobs (possibly, theoretically), doesn’t mean you likely would. For example, no Poli Sci major walks out of college and becomes a lobbyist.</p>
<p>Government Affairs jobs are possible, but unlikely. I worked in Government Affairs for an energy company and I was the only Poli Sci major, everyone else had engineering and geology degrees.</p>
<p>The other people were all former high ranking state government officials, and many former members of government agencies like the EPA and DEP. </p>
<p>95% of the retired who were supplementing their pension.</p>
<p>As I said, Poli Sci is good for government and non-profit jobs. If you want private sector opportunities look for a different major.</p>
<p>There are many private sector jobs available to political science majors. Many different consulting opportunities come to mind. Regardless, an advanced degree is helpful. Of course, if you are a “political science” major, then I assume you are interested in “political science” which by its very nature, encompasses “public” work. There are “public” components of many private businesses, however.</p>
<p>^^^ I’d disagree with you.</p>
<p>Most of those private sector jobs you are referring to are Government Affairs and perhaps PR jobs. There are two factors why those are good options for a Poli Sci student.</p>
<p>1) Corporations who have Government Affairs (often closely connected to Regulatory Affairs) departments typically want students with backgrounds within their own industry. For example, Pharma companies want their Regulatory Affairs staff to have degrees in Chem/Bio. This is also true with industries like energy, healthcare, ect.</p>
<p>2) Government Affairs departments are small, and usually sparsely staffed. It’s nowhere near the same as a HR, IT or Accounting department. </p>
<p>If a Poli Sci grad can find work in this field, fantastic, because I think it’s a rewarding area and personally, I think Poli Sci grads should receive greater consideration. However, a student SHOULD NOT head into school thinking that these jobs are a viable option for their future careers. </p>
<p>I’m not really sure what consulting careers you are referring too. Sure there are political consultants, but again, that is a very niche career, and doesn’t have a robust need like other career paths such as Accounting, IT.</p>
<p>
Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama.</p>
<p>^^^ You’re saying they got their jobs because they were Poli Sci majors?</p>
<p>That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went to the best law schools in the country. I think that resulted in their success, not their little PS degree.</p>
<p>I think Hillary’s success was the result of marrying a future POTUS.</p>
<p>Obama’s success must be contributed to witchcraft.</p>
<p>Political Science is a terrible degree. There are no jobs.</p>
<p>^ Pretty much.</p>
<p>It’s a narrow field.</p>
<p>If a student really wants to work in “Political Science”, they better start loading up on skills like poling, surveys and IT/GIS technologies to aid campaigns.</p>
<p>It’s a good degree if you want to be a government analyst (intel) or work in policy, but overall it’s not a degree with endless opportunities.</p>
<p>Political Science = Pre-law</p>
<p>^ No, that’s not true.</p>
<p>It has good application, they are just narrow ones.</p>
<p>If you take a good curriculum, Poli Sci should be heavy in statistics and research methods. Most Poli Sci students just focus on theory or comparative politics, which don’t provide any concrete skills.</p>
<p>Many students just want to work within politics & policy, and if so, it’s a good major. </p>
<p>The major definitely needs to be modernized to keep pace with new technology and political environment, and provide a better “the business of politics is business” type of education, rather than being a political theory intensive major.</p>
<p>You can use [Search</a> Entry Level Jobs and Internships by College Major - MajoredIn](<a href=“http://www.majoredin.com%5DSearch”>http://www.majoredin.com) to see what entry level jobs are available/typical for political science majors.</p>
<p>Thanks for this thread ! I’m a political science major looking for a job right now, and the education experience itself is awesome, but I AM slightly frustrated looking for a job. Some of these answers are pointing me in the right direction, but it’s not that easy.</p>
<p>1 suggestion: go to careerbuilder.com and search “government” jobs and there are some interesting ones like grant writing</p>
<p>What can I do with a major in Political Science?</p>
<p>Campaign Worker
Events Planner
City Manager<br>
International Market Researcher
Business Administrator<br>
Diplomat
Executive Search Consultant
Editor
Executive Assistant
Journalist
Financial Planner<br>
Intelligence Agent
Political Correspondent
Human Resources Specialist
Foreign Service Worker<br>
Analyst
Public Opinion Analyst<br>
Technical Writer
Education/Teacher<br>
Politician
Political Consultant<br>
Media Specialist
Public Relations Director<br>
Human Rights Advocate
Urban Policy Planner<br>
Labor Relations Specialist
Legal Investigator<br>
Parole/Probation Officer
Strategic Planning Consultant<br>
Lawyer/Paralegal
Lobbyist/Organizer<br>
Consumer Advocate
Historical Archivist/Researcher
Sales Manager
Social Worker<br>
Congressional Research</p>
<p>My mom has a masters in poli sci and she went right back to school for a nursing degree because of the lack of job opportunities. </p>