<p>i really get annoyed when my parents keep reminding me of job prospects of liberal arts majors. i'm a political science major. i could go into several fields, like law, government jobs, teaching, and maybe even business consulting. </p>
<p>problem is, what if i decide not to go to law school? what i dont get a business consulting job? then i'm stuck with a government job or teaching, and to my parents, that's too low paying and i wont even have enough money to survive (in california). </p>
<p>while i have law school as a possibility, i want to reassure them that i have other options that provide good financial gains in case i decide against law school. but i cant come up with any examples. when i search for careers that poli sci majors get into, none of them would satisfy my parents except for law, because all the other careers are very low-paying. </p>
<p>what are some "high-paying starting-salary jobs" ($50k+) i could do with political science? do you know any examples of financially successful poli sci majors? how can i convince them that it's not law-school-or-bust? </p>
<p>Political science majors around here don't seem to have trouble getting jobs in banking, business, consulting, etc...I can't imagine why it would be any different for you as long as you go to a decent school. Either way, why don't you just do what you want? Your parents sound like they have misplaced priorities. Do whatever makes you happy.</p>
<p>my one pol sci friend is now getting his masters at george washington... another one i know is running a campaign for some guy who is running for state legislator here..</p>
<p>the reason you are having trouble coming up with examples is that there arent many... while you can certainly ' get jobs' in the fields noted above they are not particularly high paying and competive, same jobs can be had by others majors</p>
<p>Don't expect to find an entry level job with a salary of more than $40,000 as a polisci major. At UPenn polisci majors accepted jobs with an average starting salary of $38,625 and a range of $22k-$55k. Polisci/econ majors didnt fare much better, averaging $38,167 and ranging from $34k-$45k.</p>
<p>Engineering and some sciences are the only majors where grads can reasonable expect to crack the $50k starting salary barrier. At UPenn engineering grads starting salaries averaged $54,936 last year.</p>
<p>And keep in mind this is UPenn whose graduates are heavily recruited. If you are attending a less prestigious university or an LAC, expect starting salary offers to be somewhat less, probably in the low $30's.</p>
<p>However starting salary is not that important. It is your career trajectory that is most important. Those rare individuals who bring the total package to the table soon find that disappointing entry level job a distant memory.</p>
<p>I have both an MA and a BA in Political Science. If you want to go into government it is obviously a great major. Poli Sci is also a great background if you want to have a business career selling goods or services to local, state, federal or international governmental agencies. Understanding "how" the political process works will hep you navigate the regulatory world (think bio-technology & the FDA). Governments at all levels buy huge amounts of goods and services and many of the people who manage the sales process have poli sci backgrounds.</p>
<p>I am in the insurance business and about a third of my clients are government agencies. My poli sci background has definitely helped me to work in this arena. In addition, because political science is the study of "how" governments work, you will learn skills that will help you to determine "how" other complex organizations work, how decisions are made, etc. Poli Sci will also teach you writing skills, including drafting concise 2 page memos!</p>
<p>Don't forget to take a few classes that are quantitative: micro and macro economics, statistics and some basic government finance, accounting or budgeting.</p>
<p>yes , and I had my post interuppted ...where i was going to comment that opportunities as lantern showed, exist ... I didnt want to come off and being critical of the choices of degrees your were persuing</p>
<p>The degree per se might not take you to certain jobs ...but the knowledge you gain AND your own motivation may. </p>
<p>I know one poli sci major--she's a lawyer now. I know one classics major--she's a lawyer. Another friend majored in Chinese--he's a lawyer. All have been practicing law for a long time. Face it, the law field is filled with people who majored in things that people said they wouldn't be able to find work in.</p>
<p>poli-sci is a liberal-arts major, and as such doesn't directly prepare you for a career. Nor is it intended to. What it does do is allow you to develop marketable skills in areas such as writing, research, reasoning, etc. But for the liberal-arts major preparing for a career is something that needs to be done in addition to the major. Their are some good books that discuss how to do this, including one of my favorites called "Major in Success".</p>
<p>At ucla they have a well-staffed career center. You can use the resources to explore careers, contact alums in various fields to get their advice about how to get started, etc. And most importantly try to take advantage of internship opportunities. Internships are like gold on a resume; they show you have real-world experience and aren't just guessing you might like a particular field. And companies usually make job offers to their interns because they've had a chance to see them work for an extended time compared to the 5-10 hours they have in contact with interviewees.</p>
<p>Many careers in business are somewhat random in that you couldn't have predicted them from the start. Since you asked for examples, a poli-sci major I know did volunteer work in a political campaign because he just liked politics (duh, right?). This led to an offer for part-time work after the campaign while he was in school, and then a full-time job working with constituents after graduation. Thru networking he got to know people who worked for other politicians and in the course of about 7 years he had a few jobs with various politicians including district office manager, the eyes and ears of the politician back at home. Since he knew many people in government he was valuable to lobbying firms, and went to work for one of them. This brought him onto what seems to be a revolving door where people work in public relations, lobbying, or government and change jobs every few years (at a pay raise, of course).</p>