I’m currently a senior studying Political Science with one major course and a few electives to graduate. I’ve always wanted to go on to graduate school, but at this point I’ve pretty much lost all motivation to do so. Like a lot of people in my shoes, I’ve been filled with anxiety and regret over what I’ve done and what I should do next. I don’t know what jobs I would even quality for, and all the generic jobs I’ve seen online don’t sound appealing at all. I wouldn’t mind going into business, but I’m more of a creative/theoretical type so most traditional companies don’t sound very appealing either. I just don’t know what my options are, and I would appreciate any directional suggestions.
I don’t know if I can offer any help, but I just wanted to share that I’m in a similar situation to yours. I’m majoring in International Politics - National Security (up until last month I was Political Science too), and I’m a junior kind of questioning everything. I went to our career fair and only one or two companies (government agencies mainly) were interested in my studies; most companies wanted STEM majors. I mean, I’m sure you have a lot of opportunities in government or government-related organizations with Political Science, but it just depends on what you want to do. And it sounds like you, like me, find most jobs unappealing and am not really sure exactly what you want to do.
Hopefully we’ll find some help.
So first of all, banish the myth that social science majors don’t get jobs. You can get a job after you graduate, without graduate school. You just need to get to work and start putting that brilliant mind of yours towards finding a niche for yourself.
Secondly, you need to also banish the idea that your first job out of college will be a perfect fit for you. You may not find your passion right away - few people do (in fact, some people are never passionate about their jobs. That’s totally okay). While you’re doing this, you should re-examine why you consider most jobs generic and unappealing. What is it that you are expecting to do? Do you need to adjust your expectations to be more realistic and aligned with jobs that actually exist and the common tasks that a very junior employee will be doing?
This is recruiting season, and likely your career office is buzzing with activity. First go to your career office and get help putting together or polishing up your resume. Then if there is a career fair, go to it! Go up to companies that seem interesting even if you don’t know what you would do there. You might be surprised about the positions that exist.
For example, I work for Microsoft. Many students assume that we primarily hire STEM majors (especially engineers and computer scientists) and that we are not interested in HSS majors. But we are very interested in them! As one of our recruiters put it, we are a technology business, and we need folks to run the business side - marketing, HR, finance, law, sales/account management, management, etc. We also have some HSS majors in what I call semi-tech roles, people who are interested in and love technology but don’t code. I know PMs and producers here who majored in linguistics, theater, women’s studies, nursing, etc.
Thirdly, you seem to have some stereotypes or assumptions about companies that may or may not be true. For example, that you are a “creative/theoretical type” so most companies wouldn’t be appealing. However, most companies have marketing arms, and marketing usually requires some creative thought. Many companies also have research arms - like me, I’m a researcher, and I’m pretty practical-minded, but I occasionally have to get abstract for my job depending on the topic I’m researching. Consultants also may do more creative/theoretical thinking than you’d expect, although they eventually will need to apply it to the job. The big management consulting firms mostly target top schools, so if you go to one you’re in luck. If you don’t, though, there are LOTS of consulting firms and companies and lots of companies also hire in-house consultants.
Basically, there are lots of things you can do. The world is your oyster…and part of the process is changing your thinking and your approach. Instead of thinking of yourself as disadvantaged, think of yourself as a bright, motivated student with valuable skills that anyone would want. Fake it til’ you make it, as they say.
MrEl: I just went to a career fair myself and found the same thing. It was a lot of sales, finance, STEM, etc, just no interest what so ever. That definitely hit me hard, making my education feel even more irrelevant. I’ve made steps into government myself, but the pay just isn’t there. I’m just going to keep searching and exploring potential opportunities, put myself out there, and see what I get. We may end up finding something we never expected, but it is a daunting task.
Juillet: Wow, that’s an incredibly in-depth response. Yeah, I suppose you’re right that I have a lot of preconceived notions I need to overcome. It’s funny that you suggest marketing because I’ve been heavily looking into market analysis as a possible start. I haven’t looked into consulting firms, so I’ll certainly give that a try too. I also didn’t know that Microsoft hired so broadly, and that’s very compelling to me. You’ve certainly given me a lot to consider!